Johnny Depp reigns again! The actor returns to film as King Louis XV in Netflix funded feature after his dramatic victory over Amber Heard in defamation trial

•  Johnny Depp has found his first role since his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard and is set to play King Louis XV in ‘La Favorite’
• ‘La Favorite,’ directed by Maiwenn Le Besco, will be Depp’s first French film and his first role since his highly publicized domestic violence trial 
•  The actor was awarded $15 million after his defamation suit against Heard
•  Depp is also reportedly weighing offers from Disney to return to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise

Johnny Depp is set to star in his first film since his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, a French period piece called ‘La Favorite.’ 

Depp will play King Louis XV alongside Maiwenn Le Besco, who will both direct the film and play the main character, Jeanne du Barry, King Louis’ mistress. 

Le Besco has had success before, directing critically acclaimed films such as ‘Polisse’ and ‘Mon Roi.’ The film, set to be shot this summer, will be Depp’s first film in French and is expected to released in 2023. 

While the budget for the movie is unclear, Depp reportedly has an up-front starting fee of $20 million for any role. 

‘La Favorite’ will mark a return for Depp after much of Hollywood blacklisted him following domestic violence accusations from Heard. 

It is unclear what Depp will make on his latest film, but the once in demand actor has an up-front starting fee of $20 million for any role. Depp was pictured on July 6, 2022 meeting his fans in Hesse, Germany

Amber Heard is seen in Fairfax, Virginia during the trial with Depp. Heard was awarded $2 million

The film will be directed by Maiwenn Le Besco, who will also star opposite Depp in the movie

Depp’s first role back in front of the camera will be playing King Louis XV in the French period piece ‘La Favorite,’ set to release in 2023

In 2020, a British court ruled that 12 of 14 violence incidents 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, after his own defamation suit against Heard, in which he was awarded $15 million, the star seems to be attracting interest again. 

Depp is reportedly in talks to star in another ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film and reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow after a $301 million offer from Disney. 

According to reports, Depp allegedly joked he wouldn’t return to the ‘Pirates’ franchise even if he was offered $300 million, which led Disney to offer him $1 million more than that. 

His last film, ‘Minimata,’ about war photographer W. Eugene Smith, was released in 2020. 

The movie flopped, grossing a meager $1.7 million worldwide with a budget in the range of $11-13 million. Depp was paid $3 million for his role after ‘the financing became shaky,’ according to his agent. 

The announcement comes as Netflix’s subscriber base and value have plummeted this year. 

Netflix recently agreed with French cinema guilds to invest around $40 million into French films in an attempt 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 actor, was born in the upscale Paris suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Lily-Rose has also graced the Netflix homepage. The young actress starred opposite Timothee Chalamet in the 2019 Netflix movie The King.

The streaming giant admitted it expects to lose millions of subscribers this year, and its stock value has dropped over 70% since the beginning of the year. 

In January, Netflix stock was worth over $600 a share, but that price has fallen substantially, and shares were being traded at around $180 in June. 

The loss of value and revenue has forced Netflix to cut costs, leading to their decision to fire hundreds of staffers and employees.

Many believe an obvious solution to some of Netflix’s recent issues would be an adoption of an advertising model to increase revenue, but co-CEO Ted Sarandos has dismissed the idea.

‘For us, it was all about simplicity of one product, one price point,’ he said, adding: ‘I think it can now withstand some complexity,’ Sarandos told the New York Times in May.

‘We make decisions based on the best information we have at the time. They are not always going to be right, but how you help navigate the outcomes, and the urgency you bring to it, is what gets folks through the storm. And the storms will come.’ 

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