San Diego Comic-Con 2009

There had been murmurs that Johnny Depp, one of the stars of Tim Burton's way weird live-action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, would drop by this morning's Disney 3-D panel.

And—would you look at that!—he did.

In fact, Depp stopped by, said five words and then totally just left.

Here's what went down:

After screening a custom-made trailer for his Comic-Con fans, director Burton asked the crowd if they would like to meet the "imaginary friend" that follows him around.

The crowd cheered and Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter, walked onstage in a button-up shirt and fitted black vest. He had long bangs sweeping the side of his face, and wore a thick leather bracelet.

After several moments of cheering, Depp whispered into the mic:

"Hey. Happy to be here."

And then, poof, he was gone.

Moderator Patton Oswalt told the crowd that Depp could reappear later in the day, so "be nice to every guy you see dressed like Jack Sparrow."

Meanwhile, Burton said he's still filming the CGI-heavy fantasy flick, due next spring, and that he feels there's a "white rabbit with a stop watch" timing him.

In terms of plot, he also dished that there was an effort to make Alice (Mia Wasikowska) more active in the story rather than a bunch of "weird scenes" happening to her. Oh, and remember that Depp isn't the only person in this movie: Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter also star.

But we're on total Depp alert today, and will report any other Comic-Con sightings. Stay tuned...

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