Mark Millar wants Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp for ‘Nemesis’ movie

Comic book writer Mark Millar is quickly gaining a reputation among internet circles as something of a harbinger of misinformation. Two of his films successfully made the transition to the big screen – Wanted and Kick-Ass – but the author has a questionable track record with many of his claims; apparently he was telling people he wrote (or would write) the newest X-Men film, a statement Fox outright denied soon after.

In any case, we’re playing right into his hands by even talking about this piece of “news” considering there’s almost no way it’ll come to pass, but it’s really fun to consider. As if the headline didn’t give it away, read on to see what Millar is hyping now.

As I recently wrote here on Filmonic, director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Unstoppable) has signed to direct Nemesis, a film based on one of Millar’s newest comics. For those of you who haven’t been following this film’s development, the concept is pretty spectacular: the world’s only supervillain is a wealthy billionaire type, but instead of fighting for good, he chooses the best police officer in the world and makes his or her life a living hell. It’s been pitched as “what if Batman WAS the Joker?”, a welcome twist to the tiring superhero genre.

Now, Millar tells Empire that he wants Johnny Depp as the villainous titular character.

When I was writing the comic, I genuinely saw Johnny Depp as Nemesis. He’s a thin-faced guy, slightly creepy, a cross between Heath Ledger and Christian Bale, and someone who could pull off both those things at the same time is Depp. He would get it. He goes slightly crazy in his roles!

Never one to aim low, Millar is also hoping to secure Brad Pitt in the role of Blake Morrow, the police detective protagonist.

He’s Commissioner Gordon meets Sherlock Holmes, so it’s got to be a big physical policeman who you feel could stand up for himself in a physical fight. It’s got to be somebody who can take a punch. You couldn’t really get anybody who’s too cerebral. He’d have to be a very physical actor so it would need to be a Pitt. Or maybe even a Liam Neeson.

Say what you will about Millar, but the man certainly has high aspirations. What do you think about the likelihood of a Depp vs. Pitt match-up on screen?