Will the Pirate of the Caribbean surface again?

After Johnny Depp's victory on Wednesday against Amber Heard in an American court, the actor could revive his career even if it is unlikely that he will again become the darling of Hollywood studios anytime soon.

Experts said on the stand that the star suffered a shortfall of more than 22 million dollars by losing his role in the sixth installment of the adventures of Jack Sparrow following the declarations of his ex-wife.

A risky choice for large franchises

The actress's lawyers, however, assured that the star of her ex-husband had already faded long before that due to "unprofessional behavior", linked in particular to his consumption of alcohol and narcotics.

"The damage is done, and from there could begin a process of returning to a certain normality," said a Hollywood producer who has worked with Johnny Depp in the past.

"But I don't think he's going to have very, very big contracts with the studios, with everything at stake," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"If he's throwing bottles and taking drugs, he's not on time, they're not going to accept delays that cost such a lot of money from someone whose star is no longer in the firmament", analyzes this producer.

According to him, the major studios could in particular experience difficulties in ensuring expensive productions in which Johnny Depp would appear.

"Now it's too risky to take a guy like this into billion-dollar franchises," he said.

A positive effect with the media coverage of the trial

And while Virginia jurors and social media fans sided with the actor during the trial, there's no guarantee he'll ever be able to win over viewers, especially female audiences, again.

“Some of the things he said are despicable”, launched the producer, referring to certain SMS quoted during the trial in which Johnny Depp called his ex-wife a “silly cow” or referred to his “rotting corpse”.

"I think some studios will be willing to work with him from now on," said Karen North, a professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in reputation management.

Despite a recent series of fiascos, "he has almost always been very good at the box office", she judges, noting that Johnny Depp has benefited from strong public exposure with this ultra-high-profile trial.

Certainly, a celebrity with a sober and polished image would struggle to recover from such tales of bouts of drunkenness and drug use, but Johnny Depp "never pretended to be a nice, well-behaved little guy".

"If someone has a bad boy side and they are accused of excesses like this, people are going to say 'well, that doesn't surprise me, that doesn't change my idea of ​​this person," explains Karen North.

“Personally, I think Johnny Depp will manage to come back, it seems logical”.

A return offered by a Frenchwoman?

If the actor returns to the cinema, he could also decide not to go through the Hollywood box.

“He could become a darling of independent cinema, where filming lasts six to eight weeks and the fees are $250,000, with 25% of the film rights,” says the producer who worked with him.

“He could even have a nomination for a nice little role (…) and impress people with a crazy performance”, he imagines.

“He is going to work in Europe.

They don't bother with this kind of stuff over there”, estimates the producer, for whom Johnny Depp will undoubtedly “make French or German films”.

The 58-year-old actor should indeed appear in a French film by director Maïwenn,

Jeanne du Barry

.

In this feature film still in the pre-production phase, Johnny Depp will play King Louis XV.

People

Depp-Heard trial: For Johnny Depp, an almost total victory against Amber Heard

People

Depp-Heard trial: Johnny Depp's victory, a pendulum swing after the #MeToo movement?

  • johnny depp

  • Amber Heard

  • Court case

  • Domestic violence

  • Career

  • Movie theater