Johnny Depp's next movie will stream on Netflix in France 15 months after its theatrical premiere. The streamer has licensed La Favorite, a French period film starring Depp as King Louis XV, to stream in France only. Contrary to earlier reports, the movie is not a Netflix film and is not being financed by the streamer.
La Favorite will be driected by Maiwenn Le Besco and the plan is to shoot the film over the summer. It is the first movie to feature Depp acting in French. Le Besco will also co-star in the film as Madame du Barry, King Louis XV's mistress. The movie is said to be the result of a move by Netflix to invest about $40.7 million in French movies in 2022 with La Favorite included on that list.
King Louis XV ruled France for nearly 59 years from 1715 to 1774, marking one of the longest reigns in the history of France; only Louis XIV had served for longer with a 72-year reign. Louis grew ill and died in 1774, and leading up to his death, his mistress Madame du Barry remained by his side. No plot details have been revealed for La Favorite so it's unclear how much of this will be featured in the film and what exactly the story will entail.
Johnny Depp Is Back to Acting
La Favorite is the first role for Johnny Depp since coming out ahead in his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard. Because of allegations Heard had made about him, Depp says he lost his roles in popular franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts. A jury deciding that Heard had defamed Depp with "false" allegations has essentially cleared Depp's name. At least, that seems to be the stance Netflix is taking by putting some funding into the next movie to star the embattled actor.
With Fantastic Beasts, Depp's role has already been recast as Mads Mikkelsen took over as Grindelwald for the third movie, The Secrets of Dumbledore. Because the film fell short at the box office, it's unclear if there will be a fourth, but if so, it's unlikely Depp would return to that role with a new actor already in place. Many of Depp's fans said they wouldn't see Fantastic Beasts 3 because of the recasting and that may have contributed to the movie underperforming.
Meanwhile, the role of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies hasn't been recast, but there are no current plans to use the character or Depp in a future film. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has teased that this could change in the future. But Depp testified at the defamation trial that he would not return to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies after feeling "betrayed" by Disney firing him over unproven allegations. In any case, Depp is back to acting and will be in more starring roles, starting with La Favorite.
Article has been updated to reflect that Netflix is not co-financing La Favorite as originally reported by Bloomberg.