There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the news that Johnny Depp is up for the latest lead role in a major Hollywood film.

In the last two years, Depp has been rumored to play The Riddler in The Dark Knight Rises, a story that has since been debunked; Tonto in Disney's Lone Ranger, which might re-team him with director Gore Verbinski; and Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, an adaptation of the popular 1960s TV show.

Factor in the movies that Depp is working on now (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), or the movies he has recently completed (Rango), and it seems like nothing comes out of Hollywood without at least mentioning the quirky actor's name.

As if to prove that very point, The Wrap is exclusively reporting that Johnny Depp has been offered the role of the Huntsman in Universal's new film Snow White and the Huntsman. According to the report, Depp was offered the role after actor Tom Hardy turned it down (presumably to film his unknown role in The Dark Knight Rises).

Snow White and the Huntsman (not to be confused with The Brothers Grimm: Snow White) features a number of revisions that differentiate the movie from the original Snow White story, most important of which is an expanded role for the Huntsman.

According to The Wrap,

"The story features an expanded role for the Huntsman, who in the original story lets Snow White go after being ordered to kill her in the woods. In Daugherty's script, the Huntsman is haunted by a white wolf that killed his wife, and there's a pervasive sadness about the character that makes the void in his life feel quite real."

I'm a big Depp fan, and this project sounds interesting, so I'm happy to hear that he's up for the role. That being said, it's getting a bit repetitive to hear his name attached to every movie coming out of Hollywood. The same problem happens when we talk about superhero movies. It seems like the same names (Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pine) are attached to every new comic book property that is coming out.

It makes you wonder how lesser-known actors must feel when they go in for an audition? "Oh, Depp already read for this. Sweet. Guess that means I'm not getting this part."

Universal plans to release Snow White and the Huntsman to theaters on December 21st, 2012.

Source: The Wrap