Johnny Depp set to play The Invisible Man in Universal's classic monster universe

He'll star in the studio's reboot of the character, forming part of a Marvel-style cinematic universe.

(2015 Getty Images)

Johnny Depp is going invisible for his next film, so cue a thousand 'but what will he do without the wacky facial expressions?' jokes starting 1, 2, 3...

He's signed up to star in Universal's The Invisible Man, as part of the studio's new rebooted cinematic universe set around their roster of classic movie monsters. It's a character which first came to screens in the 1933 adaption of the H.G. Wells novel, which saw Claude Rains play a scientist hell-bent on cracking the formula for invisibility, though the endeavour drives him insane.

Though the actor's been recently lacking in critical and popular success, thanks to box office bombs like Mortdecai, tying himself to a fresh, major franchise like this may be the key to steadying his future career. Sure, the idea of blockbuster reboots of classic monsters doesn't sound the surest of ideas, but the studio must feel confident enough in the idea's potential to have attracted the likes of both Depp and Tom Cruise, who'll star in the first of the series, The Mummy.

The universe has come under the guardianship of Alex Kurtzman, who penned Mission Impossible III, and Chris Morgan, screenwriter on the Fast & Furious franchise. The Invisible Man will feature alongside solo films for The Mummy, Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and Van Helsing; an Avengers-style team-up movie has also been planned, for which Depp will likely be contracted to appear in.

Depp has returned to his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass, out in UK cinemas 27 May.