Depp to Play Mad Hatter in 3-D Alice?

When I learned, via GreenCine Daily, that Johnny Depp might be playing the part of the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton 3-D version of Alice in Wonderland (financed by the Disney Corp.) my first thought was - Why? Hadn’t Depp already played that part - or a visual simulacrum of it - in Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (above)? On second thought - Why not? If Depp could play Captain Jack in three Pirates films, why not revive his Willy Wonka characterization in the surreal context of a Lewis Carroll adaptation?

In any event, I look forward to seeing Burton express his distinctive sense of visual design in 3-D. I also heard he’s going to cast an 18-year-old Australian actress, Mia Wasikowska, in the part of little Alice - which might sound strange - but not as strange as watching a 25-year-old Kate Beckinsale playing Alice Through the Looking Glass in a 1998 U.K. TV version.