Ok, that didn't take long.

It makes sense that such a bombshell claim would get film reporters all over LA on the case, and so they have, and have come back with this conclusion: Johnny Depp will probably not star as the titular Doctor Strange in a planned Marvel movie.

He did have a meeting, yes, but Deadline says it took place a while ago and went nowhere. Meanwhile, Variety have walked back their previous "early talks" reporting, on which so much of this excitement stemmed and, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit, the studio is having an entirely new script written.

So this is either a bummer or a dodged bullet, depending on your perspective (I'll be breathing a sigh of relief over here).

Coming soon for Depp will be the sequel to 2010's Alice in Wonderland. Brendon's still digging into some stories on that one, but he has told me:

[Director] James Bobin and Disney are looking at both actors and actresses for their villain, Time.

Time as a villain certainly fits in with our previous scoop that the film will see younger versions of both Alice and the Mad Hatter as well.

And Depp's certainly not hurting for other projects. Deadline also reports Depp is back at the negotiating table to play iconic mobster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass, and that Out of the Furnace director Scott Cooper is in talks to direct it. Depp's initial contract talks to star in the film fell apart last year, allegedly over money.

So I suppose the door isn't totally closed for him to play Doctor Strange one day, even if the current talks amounted to nothing. And in the meantime, plenty of other projects to look forward to for the Depp fans out there.