Johnny Depp buys rights to comic book, 'The Vault'

Johnny Depp has bought the rights to Sam Sarkar's comic book, The Vault. He will co-produce the intended film with The Departed producer, Graham King. The rights to the three-part series of comics were snapped up by the actor's studio, Infinitum Nihil, after hitting shelves just this week.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Vault is an underwater sci-fi story that: "centres on a group of divers who, off the coast of Nova Scotia, uncover a sarcophagus with unusual remains and inadvertently unleash an ancient evil."

Graham King and Johnny Depp have worked together before, with the former producing The Tourist, Rango and, Depp's latest, The Rum Diary.

It is still far too early to tell if Depp will cast himself (and don a diving suit) for the production, but early word is that The Vault has huge cinematic potential.

Last week, it was announced that Graham King's studio, GK Films, would develop a new take on Roman classic Spartacus.

Johnny Depp will next appear in The Rum Diary, based on the novel by Hunter S Thompson. It is due for UK release on November 4.