Depp will produce, star in adaptation

Johnny Depp keeps adding more projects to his crowded plate.

According to Variety, Depp's Infinitum Nihil production group has optioned the 2002 Nick Tosches novel "In the Hand of Dante." The book follows a fictionalized version of Tosches as he attempts to authenticate a mobster's copy of Dante Alighiere's "Divine Comedy." The chapters are intercut with flashbacks to Dante writing his masterwork. Depp will produce and star, but there's no word on which character Depp will play.

Depp is already involved in projects including Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," "Rango," an updated version of "Dark Shadows" and possibly a third "Sin City" movie. Already in the can are next year's "Public Enemies" and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."