The organizers of the Cannes Film Festival in France announced on Wednesday that Johnny Depp’s first live-action film since his high-profile defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard would be the opening movie for next month’s festival.
The French-language film “Jeanne du Barry” stars director Maïwenn Le Besco, known as Maiwenn, as Jeanne Becu, a woman who rose from poverty to the circles of King Louis XV. Depp plays the king in the movie, which will have its world premiere at Cannes on May 16.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor has made few film or TV appearances since his trial concluded in June 2022. However, he made surprise cameos at the MTV Video Music Awards and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion show.
Depp also voiced an animated puffin in last month’s “Johnny Puff: Secret Mission.”
The actor is trying to rebuild his career after winning a near-total victory in his U.S. legal battle with Heard, a fellow actor who had accused him of abuse. Depp denied hitting her or any other woman.
Two years earlier, Depp lost a libel suit against the Sun tabloid in Britain, which called him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled that Depp had repeatedly assaulted Heard. He was soon dropped from the “Harry Potter” spinoff franchise “Fantastic Beasts” and shunned mainly by Hollywood.
