Johnny Depp appears as King Louis XV in new promotional images for his highly anticipated film, Jeanne du Barry, which comes after his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
In promotional images released on Tuesday, Depp looked majestic as the French monarch alongside co-star/director Maiwenn Le Besco, who plays King Louis’ mistress Jeanne du Barry.
Instead of his signature brown locks, Depp sports silver hair and King Louis’ famous tricorns and elaborate royal attire.
Regal: Johnny Depp appears as King Louis XV in new promotional images for his highly anticipated film Jeanne du Barry, which comes after his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard
Louis XV reigned over France from 1715 until his death in 1774. He was married to the Queen of France, Marie Leczinska but had a number of long-term affairs.
Jeanne was his last lover before his death.
The period piece was filmed over the summer and will be released this year. A source told PEOPLE that Jeanne du Barry could premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May.
As well as being his career comeback, this also marks Depp’s first film in French.
Director Le Besco has already had success, directing critically acclaimed films such as “Polisse” and “Mon Roi”.
The film will also star: Pierre Richard, Benjamin Lavernhe, Noémie Lvovsky, Melvil Poupaud, Pascal Greggory and India Hair.
Although the film’s budget is unclear, Depp is said to have a starting fee of $20 million for any role. Depp’s involvement with Jeanne du Barry was first announced in July and is his first film in three years.
In 2016, Heard, 36, accused the 59-year-old actor of domestic violence, which led to Depp being blacklisted by much of Hollywood, resulting in the loss of movie roles.
In promotional images released on Tuesday, Depp looked regal as the French monarch alongside co-star/director Maiwenn Le Besco, who plays King Louis’ mistress Jeanne du Barry.
The period piece was filmed over the summer and will premiere this year. As well as being his career comeback, this also marks Depp’s first film in French.
A jury determined that Heard’s claims, which appeared in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, against Depp were defamatory and she was ordered to pay the actor $15 million in damages.
Depp was ordered to pay Heard $2 million by the same courtroom after Heard countersued for defamation.
Heard filed an appeal in early December, but the former couple recently reached an agreement that Heard would pay $1 million in order to settle the case instead of heading to a third trial.
Depp’s lawyers, Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, said the actor was happy the “painful chapter” was over and confirmed he would donate the money to charity.
In character: Instead of his signature brown locks, Depp sports silver hair and King Louis’ famous tricorn hats and elaborate royal attire
Reign: Louis XV ruled France from 1715 until his death in 1774
Last mistress: Jeanne was his last lover before his death
In a statement on Instagram, Heard confirmed the settlement but refused to accept guilt and said his life was “destroyed” by the jury’s decision.
In 2020, a UK court ruled that 12 of the 14 incidents of violence claimed by Heard were “substantially true”, and Depp was subsequently forced to resign from the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise at the request of Warner Bros.
But, following her libel suit against Heard in 2022, the star has regained Hollywood’s attention.
Depp is reportedly in talks to star in another ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie and reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow after a $301 million bid from Disney.
The film will be directed by Maiwenn Le Besco; seen in February
Reportedly, Depp joked that he wouldn’t return to the ‘Pirates’ franchise even if he was offered $300 million, leading Disney to offer him $1 million more than that.
In December, producer Jerry Bruckheimer said he would “love” Johnny Depp to return to the franchise.
His latest film, “Minimata,” about war photographer W. Eugene Smith, was released in 2020.
The film flopped, grossing a measly $1.7 million worldwide on a budget in the range of $11–13 million. Depp was paid $3 million for his role after “funding became shaky”, according to his agent.
Accusations: In 2016, Heard, 36, accused the 59-year-old actor of domestic violence, which led to Depp being blacklisted by much of Hollywood, which led to the loss of roles in the movie theater.
Justified: A jury determined that Heard’s claims, which appeared in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, against Depp were libelous and she was ordered to pay the actor $15 million in damages; Depp seen in July
The announcement comes as Netflix’s subscriber base and value have plummeted this year.
Netflix recently agreed with French film guilds to invest around $40 million in French films in a bid to recoup interest in its productions.
Depp has a 23-year-old daughter with French singer Vanessa Paradis. Lily-Rose Depp, who is also an actress, was born in the upscale Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Lily-Rose also graced Netflix’s homepage. The young actress starred alongside Timothee Chalamet in the 2019 Netflix movie The King.
The streaming giant has admitted that it expects to lose millions of subscribers this year, and its stock market value has fallen more than 70% since the start of the year.
Heard and Depp seen in 2016
Settled: Heard filed an appeal in early December, but the former couple recently reached an agreement that Heard would pay $1million in order to settle the case instead of heading for a third trial; Depp appears in May
In January, Netflix stock was worth over $600 per share, but that price has dropped significantly and shares were trading at around $180 in June.
Loss of value and revenue forced Netflix to cut costs, leading to its decision to lay off hundreds of staff and employees.
Many believe that an obvious solution to some of Netflix’s recent problems would be to adopt an advertising model to increase revenue, but co-CEO Ted Sarandos has dismissed the idea.
“For us, it was about the simplicity of a product, a price,” he said, adding, “I think it can handle some complexity now,” Sarandos told The New York Times in May.
“We make decisions based on the best information we have at the time. They won’t always be right, but the way you help navigate results and the urgency you bring to them is what gets people through the storm. And the storms will come.
‘Destroyed’: In a statement on Instagram, Heard confirmed the settlement but refused to accept his guilt and said his life was ‘destroyed’ by the jury’s decision; Heard seen in May
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