Johnny Depp has spent the last few years battling his ex-wife Amber Heard over “wife-beater” claims, but his career is beginning to look up. The star became a household name after playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, but in recent years the Edward Scissorhands actor has been dropped from the Disney franchise. But the star’s luck may be changing.

Depp will be playing French king Louis XV in an upcoming film from French director Maiwenn. The film’s title and plot are – for now – complete secrets, but this news is certainly a bump in the career of the downtrodden actor. The upcoming movie is being produced by the Paris-based Why Not Productions, who previously released film A Prophet. The real-life Louis XV ruled for 59 years but corruption allegations left him dying as an unpopular ruler. Is this going to be a large acting undertaking for the Chocolat star?

This casting announcement follows the star being removed from the ongoing Harry Potter series Fantastic Beasts.

Depp left the production of the third film in the franchise after being “asked to step down”. Since then, he has been replaced by Hannibal and James Bond star Mads Mikkelsen.

This information followed news about the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

READ MORE: Johnny Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean co-star shares set experience

When asked about the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off, Robbie admitted it will include “a lot of girl power”. She went on: “No, it’s too early to talk about it… I love [writer] Christina [Hodson], obviously. I’m not a producer on Pirates, so I’ll sit back and kind of wait for the process. No, we’re really, really excited at the prospect of adding obviously a very key female element to that world.” Depp last starred in a film in 2019.

Depp was last seen on the big screen in the biopic Minamata. The film was based on the book of the same name and followed the life of photographer Eugene Smith who documented the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan. The star later expressed frustration over the factual movie being “buried” by Hollywood.

He said: “Some films touch people, and this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything… For Hollywood’s boycott of me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”

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