As Johnny Depp continues to return to work in the world of entertainment, his directing gig Modi is about to kick off the next chapter. With the film starting production in Budapest, and the cast including Al Pacino among others, it’s Depp’s long awaited return to the director’s chair. While there’s certainly a level of anticipation to this project, one has to wonder when the Pirates of the Caribbean star will film another Hollywood movie?
In his post-divorce era, past the long legal battle he saw with ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny seems to be rebuilding his professional life in European based projects. Modi’s announced movement into production, which came from Variety, is just one signal of the actor/director’s comfort abroad.
This is after Mr. Depp’s first post-trial picture Jeanne Du Barry garnered an interesting critical reaction after debuting at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. As that project has already been released in Europe, there's no indication as to when it will be released by domestic distributor Vertical Entertainment. So maybe those making the decisions feel that Johnny plays broader internationally, but needs a finer touch when being sold in the US.
Another factor that might play a part in any such decisions is, quite honestly, the subject of loyalty. You only need to read Johnny Depp’s praise of Dior as they “stuck by [him] through every second,” and it could possibly inform why the frequent Tim Burton collaborator hasn’t signed his next blockbuster franchise just yet. Especially when his last big ticket gig in the Fantastic Beasts saga saw Depp asked to bow out in a rather public fashion.
A creative animal on all fronts, Depp and his recent resurrection in the European entertainment circuit is probably where the musician turned actor finds himself most at home. That is, when Johnny isn’t pursuing his passions of artwork and touring for his music career; both of which have also seen quite a healthy engagement in recent times.
While it’s uncertain if any huge offers have come in from major Hollywood studios in this post-trial period, those are the sorts of things that Johnny Depp would probably look at long and hard before accepting. Even then, if it wasn’t a project he was sincerely fired up about, one could infer that he’d gladly let that option walk the plank in the name of something more in his current wheelhouse.
So answering the question of when, or if, Johnny will ever make another Hollywood movie is something that has no easy solution. However, it's still an intriguing subject to follow, for the reasons mentioned above. No one knows where Johnny Depp's next move is going to come from, and knowing what we've seen from the man throughout his career, that's probably right where he wants us.
While Johnny Depp may seem at home in the world of art house films abroad, the man still has a blockbuster legacy that fans can still enjoy. Case in point: you can enjoy all six Pirates of the Caribbean movies, with the aid of a Disney+ subscription.
