It’s official:  Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus will be completed.  And three immensely talented actors will pay tribute to the late Heath Ledger by working variations on his character (which, according to AICN’s Moriarty, is completely plausible within the context of the Gilliam/Charles McKeown screenplay).  We’ve known this was a possibility for a couple of weeks, but Gilliam’s finally got his actors.  I think this is awfully good for such short notice:  Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp.

From what I’ve heard, Depp was the first to commit (he contacted Gilliam himself), but the hardest to schedule.  Thankfully, they worked out the particulars, and he’s definitely in.  Law’s ubiquitousness may have been the butt of Chris Rock’s Oscar monologue from a few years ago, but he’s been a little choosier of late; he’s also just a great goddamn actor when he’s not slumming in garbage like Alfie.  As for Farrell, I think he’s a tremendously talented actor who’s partied a bit too hard and worked a tad too indiscriminately; hopefully, In Bruges was a career turning point.

This is excellent news for Gilliam, who’s had a rough go of it on his last few films.  This latest setback was unthinkable, but I love that they’ve found a way to get the picture back on track whilst honoring the brilliant young actor who won’t be able to finish it.