Here’s hoping that Johnny Depp doesn’t ruin The Master And Margarita.

Pirate of the Caribbean Johnny Depp, who drifted out to sea after allegations of abuse, recently announced he’s producing an English language film based on Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. Depp made the announcement at a film festival in Saudi Arabia—kind of fitting for Bulgakov’s satire of repressive regimes.

There’s not a lot of info available, beyond a list of producers, about this first ever English-language film adaptation. Two of the executive producers have been in court over their attempt to block the release in English markets of a recent Russian language version of the book. The acclaimed film by Michael Lockshin has been a hit in Russia, but hasn’t been released in the US.

With so little known about Depp’s movie, I wonder if his announcement is related to the lawsuit somehow, which is coming down to a question of rights.

Many directors over the years have tried and failed to adapt the novel—Roman Polansky, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam and Baz Luhrmann—and Lockshin told Variety that “Bulgakov’s novel has a reputation for being cursed and impossible to adapt.”

Can Depp and co. break the curse? Can they do justice to the classic novel and its gigantic demonic cat? Has Depp gotten better at making movies after a string of lousy attempts to reenter Hollywood? Reader, I’m doubtful.