Johnny Depp’s First Post-Trial Film Has Found A Streaming Home

Johnny Depp has made countless headlines over the last few years, largely thanks to his long legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. Things really heated up when their defamation case in Virginia began, with cameras in the courtroom resulting in each moment going viral. Ultimately he was the victor in court, and now Depp’s first post-trial film has found a streaming home.

After the long and grueling battle in court, Amber Heard was found guilty on 3 counts of defamation and tasked with paying Johnny Depp a whopping $10 million. Since coming out on top, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor has been keeping busy as a musician, but he’s also gearing up to film a new movie titled La Favorite. And according to Variety, that project has found a streaming home on Netflix.

La Favorite is set to be Johnny Depp’s first big movie role since concentrating on various lawsuits that are surrounding him. He’ll be playing King Louis XV in the project, which is expected to film in France. While there were originally some reports that Netflix was also financing the project, a source close to production told Variety that this wasn’t the case. Instead, the streaming service will have the streaming rights to La Favorite following its theatrical run. And as such, it won’t be considered a Netflix original movie.

With production on La Favorite expected to begin shortly and last three months, it certainly seems like Johnny Depp’s big comeback movie is coming together. Add in a streaming home, and filmmaker Maïwenn seems to be getting all the movie’s ducks in a row. We’ll just have to see what updates come once Depp is back on set and acting again.

The long legal battle shared between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has definitely had an impact on both actor’s careers, and it should be interesting to see if/how they each recover. After Depp lost his libel case against the U.K. publication The Sun, he was asked to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. After that he has a noticeable gap in film projects, with the actor instead focusing on the various legal issues he’s currently associated with. Although that might change now that the defamation case is in the rear view, and he’s finally returning to film sets.

Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard came in response to a 2018 op-ed she wrote about her experience with domestic violence. While she didn’t include Depp’s name, both the public and the actor himself made the connection. In the end Depp’s lawyers (including the newfound celebrity Camile Vasquez) were ultimately able to convince the jury that Heard was guilty on three counts of defamation.

It’s currently unclear when La Favorite will hit theaters or Netflix. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

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.