It looks as if Johnny Depp may finally get a Don Quixote film made after all, though much to the chagrin of Terry Gilliam.  Depp was originally slated to star in an adaptation of the classic novel for director Terry Gilliam in 2000, but production on the pic was halted after the film was plagued with misfortune (as documented in the film Lost in La Mancha).  Gilliam has been trying to get the passion project off the ground ever since, but Deadline now reports that Disney has bought a pitch for an untitled modern re-imagining of Don Quixote to be produced by Depp through his Infinitum Nihil banner.  Steve Pink (High Fidelity) and Jeff Morris have been set to write the screenplay.

There’s no word on whether Depp might star in the project, but given his tight relationship with Disney on the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the upcoming The Lone Ranger, I wouldn’t say the prospect is out of the question.  Widely considered one of the best pieces of fiction ever written, Miguel de Cervantes’ seminal 1605 novel centers on a hidalgo who sets out to revive chivalry after reading a number of chivalric novels.

Poor Terry Gilliam.  Just as the director finally seems close to assembling his adaptation of the Miguel Cervantes novel Don Quixote, Warner Bros. and superproducer Joel Silver (Sherlock Holmes) have their eye on the story with the intent to fast-track it to blockbuster status.

Pajiba reports that the project is being described as a “Pirates of the Caribbean-style swashbuckling version of the story.”  The studio will reportedly jettison the insanity inherent to the lead character, and set would-be knight Don Quixote’s adventures with faithful squire Sancho Panza amid actual fantasy.  That seems like an odd choice, but I haven’t read the book.  My only real point of reference is the Wishbone episode, which you check out after the jump.

Earlier today I sat down with director Terry Gilliam to talk about his great new movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”.  Since the movie doesn’t get released until next month, I’m going to hold off on posting the full conversation till close to release.  However, since Gilliam gave me a bit of an update on his next project, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”, I figure that’s worth posting today.

According to the Gilliam, he’s cast someone to play Don Quixote, but he wouldn’t reveal who it is.  Also, while I didn’t get Gilliam to say it on camera, I heard he wants to begin filming this April, assuming financing comes together.  As most of you know, trying to make “Don Quixote” has been something of an endless challenge for this talented filmmaker.  If you’d like to see what Gilliam had to say, hit the jump.

At Comic-Con I was lucky enough to see some footage from Terry Gilliam’s new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and score an interview with the man himself. He talked creativity, Don Quixote, and of course, Heath Ledger. Read on for details on the footage and the interview:

Way back in January we reported that the unstoppable Terry Gilliam was back at work on “Don Quixote”.  If you are a Terry Gilliam fan – or just a fan of incredibly ill-fated film productions – then you will recall that Gilliam first went to work on an adaptation of the Miguel Cervantes classic about eight years ago with Johnny Depp starring.  Let’s just say that things didn’t work out.  I would tell you the story but that would rob you of the chance to see “Lost in La Mancha”, the tragic-comic documentary about Gilliam’s “Quixote” quest.

When the director announced that he was going to be taking on “Zero Theorem”, a sci-fi tale starring noted cyberpunk Billy Bob Thornton, it looked like “Don Quixote” would be put on the back burner – again.  But not so fast…

Variety is reporting that, not only is Terry Gilliam going ahead with his plans for a “Don Quixote” do-over, but that he’s already convinced a producer and a distributor to tilt at those legendary windmills along with him.  Gilliam has updated the “Don Quixote” script with his original screenwriter Tony Grisoni.  The result is now called “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” and revolves around a film director who is ‘charmed’ into becoming a modern day Sancho Panza.  Don Quixote is nothing if not charming.