We’ve already seen the immediate fallout of the recent legal battle that Johnny Depp started when he sued a British tabloid for defamation for calling him a “wife beater” as a result of the heaps of allegations against the actor from ex-wife Amber Heard and other women he’s been involved with. That long legal battle resulted in all of Heard and Depp’s dirty laundry being aired out for the world to witness. And now, we’ve seen Depp get booted from high-profile jobs such as the upcoming lead role in “Fantastic Beasts 3” (eventually going to Mads Mikkelsen) and a new report that claims he lost the lead in a big prestige TV production about Harry Houdini.
In a long THR profile about the court case and the Hollywood fallout for Depp, there is a report that said the actor was poised to star as Harry Houdini in a big-budget, comeback TV series from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ producer Jerry Bruckheimer. However, after the legal battle earned Depp persona non grata in Hollywood, that project has since been shelved.
Obviously, this is a pretty terrible result for Depp, who after losing “Fantastic Beasts 3,” is really on the hunt for a job that will put him back in A-list status. Instead, his most recent film, “Minamata” is barely registering above a blip on the radar and there doesn’t seem to be a major role lined up for him in the future. Starring as Harry Houdini, the biggest name in magic and escape artistry, could have been the role that put him back on the comeback trail, a la folks like Mel Gibson.
But when you see quotes from unnamed studio heads in the THR piece that said, “You simply can’t work with him now. He’s radioactive,” it’s clear that Depp has his work cut out for him if he wants to somehow be the lead in a billion-dollar franchise, once again.
Of course, even as I write this article, I know that there will be a legion of adoring Johnny Depp fans that immediately blame Amber Heard for this situation, saying that her “lies” are what has put their beloved silver screen idol on the blacklist. But truth be told, as THR points out, outside of a restraining order request from Heard, all of the legal battles have been initiated by Depp. And it’s for that reason that all the dirty laundry was aired and we now know that the actor sent Paul Bettany a text message where he said, “Let’s drown [Heard] before we burn her!!! I will fuck her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
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So yeah, that’s a hard thing to come back from. And unfortunately for Depp, there won’t be a collaboration with Bruckheimer to help this time.