Depending on who you ask, Johnny Depp‘s career as a mainstream movie star is either over for good, or it’s currently smoldering away as embers on a dying fire before he rises like a triumphant phoenix to reclaim his spot at the very top of the Hollywood A-list.
As always, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It’s looking increasingly unlikely that he’ll ever be invited back as Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Jack Sparrow for either of the two new outings that are in development without his involvement, while he was already unceremoniously dumped from Fantastic Beasts 3 following the outcome of his most recent trial.
History has shown that a lot of names have come back from much worse, so it would be foolish to write the 57 year-old off completely at this stage, but his next legal battle opposite ex-wife Amber Heard could be pivotal in determining the trajectories of both their careers. Should the balance swing dramatically, then Depp will be on the way up and Heard’s prospects would crater, something that a quick glance at the internet will tell you people would be on board with.
What happens from here remains to be seen, of course, but insider Daniel Richtman claims that the three-time Academy Award nominee has told the major studios in the industry to keep the door open for him, with Johnny Depp reportedly insisting that they continue to watch out for any future courtroom verdicts. This is just the latest in a long line of Depp-related status updates from the tipster, but nobody knows exactly how things are going to play out until the warring ex-spouses head back to court for what feels like the umpteenth time, because no amount of speculation or social media discourse will be able to overrule the opinion of a judge and/or jury.