Johnny Depp is to play Jack Sparrow once again. At the Walt Disney Studios Showcase, it was announced that Depp will reprise his Pirates of the Caribbean role along with taking up the part of Tonto in Disney's previously announced The Lone Ranger project and, he will play The Mad Hatter for Tim Burton in Alice in Wonderland.

Jerry Bruckheimer will produce Ranger with casting of the titular character underway. He'll also produce a new National Treasure with Nicolas Cage. Alice in Wonderland, scheduled for 2010, will be shot using 3-D and performance capture technology.

In other announcements, Helen Mirren will play a Mossad agent in Miramax's John Madden-directed The Debt. The project is set to start shooting in 2009. And, as was reported yesterday afternoon, Oprah Winfrey has joined the cast of the animated Princess And The Frog.

John Lasseter previewed the upcoming animation slate and told the crowd that Pixar has created a series of short films based on Cars.

And, a near-finished version of the 3D animated Bolt and raw footage from The Prince of Persia and the new Tron were also shown.