Jack Thorne has been tapped to pen a new Johnny Depp-produced family film called Mortimer Wintergreen, Digital Spy reported.

Thorne is best known for his work on UK dramas like Skins, The Fades and This is England '86, and the upcoming feature film A Long Way Down, based on a Nick Hornby novel.

Mortimer Wintergreen will be loosely based on the 1987 novel by Myron Levoy called The Magic Hat of Mortimer Wintergreen.

The young adult novel tells the story of a brother and sister living in the 1890s who embark upon an adventure with a travelling magician.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Depp is producing and may also take on the film's title role.

Susanna White, director of the family film Nanny McPhee Returns, is set to helm the project.

Depp's lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean franchise also recently hired Catch Me If You Can scribe Jeff Nathanson for the fifth film in the series.