Recorded Picture Company founder Jeremy Thomas has reunited with Terry Gilliam to resurrect their former passion project Don Quixote.

The duo originally tried to tell the story of Don Quixote in 2000 with Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort cast in lead roles. But the production was hit by a series of major problems, including flooding of the set and Rochefort, who was playing Quixote, falling ill.

The rushes from the film and story of the ill-fated production were turned into a successful documentary – Lost in La Mancha in 2002, charting the story of “the film that didn’t want to be made”.

Since then Thomas and Gilliam have had made several efforts to get the film underway again and hints that they were close have come at various festivals.

Thomas, speaking to ScreenDaily at this week’s Cannes Film Festival, said he had spent the last 18 months pulling together the rights to the film, so production could start again. “Terry is going to direct and it and we’re both really excited to get it underway. We will talk to Johnny (Depp) about whether he wants to be involved and we will begin casting after Cannes”.

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