We have movies not available at Redbox or NetflixWe have movies not available at Redbox or Netflix

Johnny Depp in Kevin Smith's 'Tusk'

Posted Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 10:14 AM Central
Last updated Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 10:25 AM Central

by John Couture

Johnny Depp will have to dust off his detective skills for Guy Lapointe

Look, I can admit it. I was wrong. I went out on a branch with an abundance of circumstantial evidence and I was sure that Michael Keaton was cast as Guy Lapointe in Tusk.

Well, if the walrus suit don't fit, you must acquit. And sadly Michael Keaton is not going to be in Tusk. However, I have proof this time (well, as much as official makeup artist websites can provide) that an equally intriguing fellow will be stepping in (or actually has already stepped in since his scenes have wrapped) to Guy Lapointe's boots.

That venerable actor is none other than Johnny Depp himself.

Maybe I should get half credit here. I mean, I did name Depp as a potential casting back in the original story and it seems that it has indeed come to fruition.

I thought that my stalking of Kevin Smith was pretty close to impossible to beat, but I can't hold a candle to Depp's fans on the Johnny Depp Zone Fan Board. Like the kids in Scooby Doo, they unknowingly pulled the rubber mask off the great mystery of Guy Lapointe.

First, they uncovered this interview from Long Island Newsday with Tusk lead Justin Long.

Are you working on any other movies right now?
Yeah, the one where a man turns into a war horse. It's called "Tusk." Johnny Depp is in that one. I'm working on something coming up later.

Those kids on JDZ postulate (and I concur) that the interviewer probably transcribed the interview a bit hastily and what he heard as "war horse" was really "walrus." Either way, that's about the biggest confirmation you can hope for that Johnny Depp was indeed cast as Guy Lapointe.

Of course, they always tell you not to report a story until you have two solid sources of information and again the kids over at JDZ are really thorough with their stalking skills. They looked up Joel Harlow's website and got more damning evidence. Who's Joel Harlow you ask?

Well, he just happens to be the personal makeup artist to Johnny Depp among other things. Now, there's a job I'd love to have, right? A simple click on his resumé and voila, right at the top.

TUSK
Demarest Films
Personal Make-Up Artist to Johnny Depp
Director: Kevin Smith

So, that's two independent sources confirming that indeed Johnny Depp is in Tusk. As we stated back last year, there's plenty of personal connections between Smith and Depp and I'm not surprised one bit that Johnny helped his friend out when he called.

Now, the more fun part, dreaming about seeing Johnny Depp in a Kevin Smith film. I guess Smith's original tweet that set about this whale chase is indeed appropriate.

We can't wait to see it.