Is The Next Pirates Movie Delaying Depp's The Rum Diary?

Johnny Depp made The Rum Diary, an adaptation of a Hunter S. Thompson's novel, what seems like forever ago. It was really just early last year, but ever since the film wrapped Thompson fans have wondered when the hell it might come out, and no one has been able to get a good answer. You'd think a movie starring Johnny Depp would have no trouble getting released on at least a few screens, but as it turns out, it might be another Johnny Depp movie-- a much bigger one-- that's getting in the way.

That's Aaron Eckhart's theory, at least. Talking to Jack Giroux at Film School Rejects, Eckhart speculated that one of the reasons The Rum Diary hasn't come out yet is that Depp won't be around to promote it:

I heard next year that’s [when] it’s going to come out. Johnny is making Pirates of the Caribbean and I think that he’s too busy to promote something right now. He’s working in Hawaii. I think they’re going to wait to put it out next year.

Of course, "we're waiting until next year" is the classic statement when a studio has no idea what to do with a movie and just wants to stall for a bit. But I'd still expect The Rum Diary to show its face eventually-- Depp is so associated with Thompson thanks to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas that it won't be hard to cash in. Though, as Eckhart points out, they'll need Depp out of his Jack Sparrow costume to do it.