We love Johnny Depp -- even when he goes overboard, so to speak, in such roles as Jack Sparrow in 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' series. But the prospect of Depp playing Nick Charles in a remake of 'The Thin Man,' well, that's another matter altogether.

Last October Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel hoped against hope that the sacred classic -- which starred William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles -- would never be remade. But, Monika, sad to say, Warner Bros. has tapped author and screenwriter Jerry Stahl to write a script for just such a venture, with Depp attached to star and Rob Marshall in negotiations to direct.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio wants script with a contemporary attitude that retains the period setting. We're in trouble already.

The original 'The Thin Man' (1934) -- which centered on Charles, a detective (Powell) who retires, joins high society by marrying a wealthy woman (Loy), becomes a polite drunk, and returns to sleuthing (with his wife) to help the police solve a murder case -- spawned a host of sequels and a 1957 TV series with Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk. Powell and Lawford were both the height of sophistication for their respective eras, and we'd be hard pressed to imagine Depp -- or any other current actor -- filling those shoes.

Are we being Luddites? What do you think?