'The Invisible Man' movie news: Johnny Depp to star in upcoming film

Johnny Depp has officially signed on to star in the reboot of the 1933 horror film "The Invisible Man" by Universal Pictures. Known for his unusual characters in famous movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Alice in Wonderland," the actor is going invisible this time.

Deadline first announced that Depp signed on to star in the said movie. This was after Universal announced last year that they will have a remake of "The Invisible Man" along with other classic horror films. This reboot is part of the studio's attempt at creating a new version of classic monster movies within the Universal Monsters Cinematic Universe from the '30s and '40s. The first one, according to Variety, is going to be "The Mummy" with Tom Cruise in the lead, which is targeted to be released on June 9, 2017.

"The Invisible Man" was first seen in black and white in 1933, starring Claude Rains. It was adapted from a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells (1897). It is a story of a scientist who successfully researched and attempted invisibility on himself, but failing to reverse it. This breakthrough led him to a psychotic break that turns him into a killer.

It would be interesting to watch Depp in this new role. Over the years, he was seen in "Black Mass" (2015), "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), the late '80s TV series "21 Jump Street," and many more. He will be coming back again on the big screen in "Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass" (2016) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017).

Although Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers") and Chris Morgan ("Furious 7") are to produce it, there still hasn't been any news on who is directing it. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Ed Solomon ("Men in Black") is writing it. It is set to come out in 2018.

Universal seems to be set in giving moviegoers a wide range of film choices. In 2015 alone, the studio was able to get an overwhelming good feedback. According to Box Office Mojo, "Pitch Perfect 2" ($184 million to date), "Minions" ($336 million) and "Straight Outta Compton" ($160 million) spearheaded the U.S. box office during their opening weekends, while "Jurassic World" alone garnered a record-breaking $500 million on its opening weekend with a total domestic gross of $652 million to date.