Johnny Depp is in negotiations to star in Lionsgate's upcoming adaptation Mortdecai.

Based on a novel by Kyril Bonfiglioli titled The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, the story follows debonair art dealer Charles Mortdecai (Johnny Depp). The art connoisseur travels around the world to uncover a stolen painting, which is rumored to contain a secret code to a lost bank account. The account is supposedly filled with millions in Nazi gold. On his journey, he also juggles furious Russians, the British Mi5, his crazy wife and a terrorist.

David Koepp is directing from a script provided by Eric Aronson. Johnny Depp will also be producing with Christi Dembrowski and Andrew Lazar.

Johnny Depp most recently played the role of Tonto in Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger and will next be seen in Wally Pfister's sci-fi action project Transcendence. No production date has been released.