Is Johnny Depp Returning To Acting In Major Hollywood Projects? Here’s The Latest Post-Trial Update

Johnny Depp at the court house during his defamation trial
(Image credit: Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Johnny Depp had a long and wildly successful career as a character actor. Some of Depp's best roles includes Jack Sparrow and various Tim Burton characters, but he's been noticeably missing from the Hollywood landscape for years now. This is no doubt related to his infamous relationship with Amber Heard, and their messy legal battle. So is Johnny Depp returning to acting in major Hollywood projects? Here's the latest update. 

The former pair made countless headlines while facing off in court, with both Depp and Heard making harrowing allegations of violence against the other. After the verdict was revealed, both celebrities have largely stepped away from the film industry. While Depp's first post-trial movie Jeanne du Barry is finally coming to the states, does he want to return to the Hollywood for a major release? According to a report by TMZ, he isn't ruling that out, but is mostly focused on directing at this time.

An anonymous insider told the publication that Depp isn't ruling out a full-blown Hollywood return sometime in the future, but he's remaining in Europe for the time being and is working behind the camera. This timeline makes a great deal of sense, as he's filming the upcoming movie Modi, which is his fist directorial venture in 25 years. We'll just have to see how wide of a release that projects ultimately gets. 

While it's still early in Depp's professional comeback, Modi has some A-list actors attached, including Robert De Niro. This will no doubt help to get more eyes on the project. We'll just have to see if it gets a wide theatrical release in the states. 

Johnny Depp smiles coyly dressed as Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry.

(Image credit: Vertical Entertainment)

Filming for Depp's movie began back in September, so both he and the cast should presumably be deep into the project. Perhaps he could take a mainstream project afterward, although Depp left Hollywood after the trial and has been living in Europe ever since. He toured as a musician for the following year, but some fans want to see him back on the big screen in a major role. There's even been a fan petition to see Depp return as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. 

It's been interesting to see how Johnny Depp has chosen to dip his toes back into the industry in the time since his defamation trial against Amber Heard ended. In addition to filming Jeanne du Barry and Modi, he made a few major appearances right after the verdict was revealed. That includes a surprise cameo at the VMAs, and appearing in Rihanna's Savage x Fenty show (which can be streamed with an Amazon Prime subscription). 

Only time will tell if/when Johnny Depp appears in a major Hollywood production. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.