Johnny Depp is set to star in Transcendence, the new movie from Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister, who worked on Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, The Huffington Post reports. 

"I'm thrilled, and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Johnny," Pfister, sounding confident in the negotiations, said in a statement. "He is a creative and intelligent artist whom I feel will bring great depth to the character and the overall narrative." Depp's next cinematic outing will be in Lone Ranger, in which the star dons an eagle crown as Tonto, but little is known about the film he could be working on next. "I can't talk too much about it. It's a present-day science fiction film, a fairly big concept," he said. "It's bigger budget -- not as big as 'Batman,' but not independent." Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are producers on 'Transcendence'." Pfister, who won his Academy Award for his work on Inception, is trying something new with direction, after gaining recognition as a prominent cinematographer.

Lone Ranger, which stars Armie Hammer as the titular role, and, as she so often does, sees Helena Bonham Carter team up with Depp once again, is set for a U.S release on July 3rd, 2013. Depp is set to follow up four successful Pirates of The Caribbean films with the 5th (and surely final) film, which has been confirmed by the studio, although it's far too early for a release date yet. Think 2016, at a guess.