Johnny Depp Returning To Hollywood In New Thriller From Spider-Man Director
With multiple libel lawsuits nearly derailing his decades-long career, the last few years have certainly not been the best for Johnny Depp, with him being asked to resign from the Fantastic Beasts franchise as the cherry on top of his tough-time sundae. The last Hollywood movie that he appeared in was the 2020 independent drama Minamata, in which he played war photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. But after four long years, Johnny Depp will be making his Hollywood comeback in Day Drinker, the new thriller from Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb.
Johnny Deep Makes His Hollywood Comeback In Day Drinker
Produced by Lionsgate, Day Drinker will be Johnny Depp’s return to Hollywood following a brief stint of starring in a handful of international productions, including Jeanne Du Barry, the 2023 period drama from French actor-director Maïwenn. During his Hollywood hiatus, Johhny Depp also made his directorial debut with the biopic Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, based on the life of Italian artist, Amedeo Modigliani. Featuring Al Pacino, the film premiered in Italy at the 19th Rome Film Festival on October 26.
But with his eye focused on making his way back to a full-fledged Hollywood production, Johnny Depp has waited until the perfect project came his way to act in his comeback. In Day Drinker, the 61-year-old actor will be teaming back up with Blow co-star Penélope Cruz in a thriller that has a growing team of top Hollywood talent behind it, including producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, who have had a hand in producing the John Wick film franchise. The film will also be produced by Zach Dean, who penned the original spec screenplay.
What Is Day Drinker About?
In a statement, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson described Johnny Depp’s Day Drinker as a “highly commercial concept with “wildly outrageous twists and turns all set in an incredible world.” Fogelson says that “there is no better filmmaker than Marc or two more perfectly cast actors than Johnny and Penélope to bring that world to life.”
Day Drinker will follow the story of a cruise ship bartender who meets a mysterious day drinker—only for both of them to find themselves entangled in a criminal underbelly, and connected in unexpected ways. While the remainder of the film’s plot is still under wraps, it is easy to see Johnny Deep thriving in a film with such talent around him, though it remains to be seen if he will be able to shake the rust off and hit the ground running following his lengthy layoff.
The Johnny Depp/Amber Heard Trial
In 2020, Johnny Depp became embroiled in controversy when the actor found himself on the losing end of a libel lawsuit with UK against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun newspaper over an article that called him a “wife beater.” The newspaper reported that Johhny Depp had committed several acts of domestic violence against his then-wife Amber Heard.
Following a highly-publicized trial that saw testimony from each actor, the court found that Johnny Depp had, in fact, physically assaulted Heard. Soon after, the actor was asked by Warner Bros. to step away from his acting duties in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
In 2022, Johnny Depp found a reversal of fortune in a separate libel case against Heard, when a jury found that all three statements from the op-ed that she had written about Johnny Depp were not only false, but defamed the actor and were made with actual malice.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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