Johnny Depp’s new film will be streamed by Netflix in France
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Johnny Depp will soon return to Netflix with a new movie shortly after winning his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Netflix France has licensed the Depp-starring French movie La Favorite for streaming after it completes its theatrical window.
The film stars Depp as French king Louis XV, and Maiwenn – who also directs – as Jeanne du Barry, Louis XV’s last mistress.
Bloomberg first reported that the streamer’s acquisition of the movie would “help finance the production”, stipulating that Netflix would not be involved in the making of the film.
A source close to Netflix has since clarified to The Independent that it had not financed the film, nor did it have rights to the movie outside of France.
The movie, which will shoot over three months this summer, is Depp’s first cinematic role since his defamation trial against Heard. He last appeared in Andrew Levitas’ 2020 film Minamata, which told the story of war photographer W Eugene Smith.
On 1 June, a jury of seven determined that Heard had defamed Depp in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Depp was awarded $10m (£8.3m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£416,460) in punitive damages, which were later reduced to the state’s legal limit of $350,00 (£291,522).
During the six-week trial, Depp’s legal team argued that the op-ed implied that he abused her, allegations that they said cost him his reputation and career.
Jack Whigham, who represented Depp at Creative Artists Agency and later at Range Media Partners, told the court: “After the op-ed it was impossible to get him [Depp] a studio film.”
The agent claimed Depp was set to receive $22.5m (£17.9m) to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a sixth franchise Pirates of the Caribbean instalment, however, he was officially dropped from the planned reboot in 2018, days after Heard’s op-ed was published.
Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft testified that Depp had never secured a contract for $22.5m (£17.9m) for the film, and that the figure was never committed to writing.
