Johnny Depp Lending His Voice to ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ Sequel ‘Sherlock Gnomes’

Is this peak Johnny Depp? Every time it seems as though we’ve reached the apex of Depp’s quirky madness, the clouds part to reveal that we still have miles of exhaustive wackiness ahead of us. For his next trick, Depp has signed on to lend his voice to Sherlock Gnomes, Paramount Animation’s sequel to Disney’s Gnomeo and Juliet. But at least this time he won’t be wearing a dumb hat (unless he wears one in the recording booth, and he probably will), right?

Deadline reports that Depp’s vocal talents have been acquired for Sherlock Gnomes, the sequel to 2011's Gnomeo and Juliet. James McAvoy and Emily Blunt will reprise their roles as Gnomeo and Juliet, respectively, who secure the help of detective Sherlock Gnomes (Depp) when several garden gnomes go missing in London.

The sequel will be scripted by Ben Zazove (Tooth Fairy 2) and directed by John Stevenson, who previously helmed Kung Fu Panda for DreamWorks. Gnomeo and Juliet producers Elton John (yes, that one) and David Furnish are on board for the sequel, along with Carolyn Soper, a former Disney producer behind films like Tangled and The Princess and the Frog.

At the very least, Depp’s character acting strengths will translate well to animation and save us from yet another live-action performance with ridiculous hats, prosthetics and exaggerated affectations (looking at you, Alice Through the Looking Glass).