Johnny Depp 'is producing an unauthorized musical' about Michael Jackson from the POV of MJ's glove

As if this international film star didn’t have enough legal troubles on his plate already, he’s taking on the legacy of a particularly embattled music legend with an unauthorized and very unorthodox new project.

As reported by Page Six, Edward Scissorhands star Johnny Depp is set to produce a strange-sounding new musical about the late Michael Jackson—told from the perspective of The Gloved One’s sparkly glove.

The show, entitled For The Love Of A Glove: An Unauthorized Musical Fable About The Life Of Michael Jackson, As Told By His Glove, was written and conceived by Julien Nitzberg and is set to debut on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles, California.

Strange new choice: Johnny Depp is set to produce a strange-sounding new musical about the late Michael Jackson—told from the perspective of The Gloved One’s sparkly glove

The show, which is described as a ‘look into the strange forces that shaped Michael and the scandals that bedeviled his reputation,’ places actors among life-size puppets that represent everyone from Jackson himself to his brothers, Donny Osmond, Corey Feldman and even Bubbles the Chimp.

Nitzberg, who says he first came up with the concept 17 years ago, explained how it came to be:

‘A major TV network wanted me to write a [Jackson] movie … but the question came up [about] how to deal with the child-abuse allegations.’ 

When disagreements (naturally) arose about how to address said allegations, which were explored in depth in the currently-unavailable Netflix documentary Leaving Neverland, Nitzberg made a truly bonkers suggestion.

The Gloved One: The show, which is described as a ‘look into the strange forces that shaped Michael and the scandals that bedeviled his reputation,’ places actors among life-size puppets

Legal troubles: Depp has been embroiled in numerous legal battles of late and risks sparking a new one with this project

‘I said, how’s this? Everything MJ has been accused of has actually been caused by his glove, which is actually an alien from outer space [and] feeds on virgin boy blood.’

When the network (again, quite naturally) laughed at that suggestion, Nitzberg says he walked away from the opportunity back then. 

‘I turned down a really big paycheck,’ he said. 

Bonkers: At one point, the musical’s writer conceived the story as follows—’Everything MJ has been accused of has actually been caused by his glove, which is actually an alien from outer space [and] feeds on virgin boy blood’

But, he still wanted to pursue the project. ‘I’m going to go back to this … and do this as a musical,’ he remembered thinking. 

Enter Johnny Depp and his production company Infinitum Nihil all these years later.

It is still unconfirmed as to whether the bloodthirsty alien glove storyline is still intact in the piece, but if any part of it is, it’s very safe to assume that this new musical will anger at least some of the masses, not to mention the Jackson estate itself, who previously, and thus far successfully, sought an injunction against the airing of the damning Netflix documentary.

Risky: It is still unconfirmed as to whether the bloodthirsty alien glove storyline is still intact in the piece, but if any part of it is, it’s very safe to assume that this new musical will anger some

The King of Pop’s wares: Michael Jackson’s famed sequined glove, along with fedora, on display at the Motown Historical Museum in Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, Michigan in 2010

Depp, who is still embroiled in a now-postponed legal dispute with ex-wife Amber Heard over defamation claims and who only this week settled a separate case involving former lawyers who he claimed overcharged him, now risks entering a new legal squabble as well. 

In addition to For The Love Of A Glove in LA, there are at least two other Michael Jackson related theater projects currently underway.

A ‘sanctioned’ musical, simply called MJ, heads to Broadway next year in New York, while Thriller Live currently can be seen in London’s West End. 

Marching to a different beat: Depp, seen here in October in Florida, has seen his legal dispute against ex-wife Amber Heard postponed until next year after he missed the deadline to produce necessary documents in court