With a drink in hand and gray in his hair, Johnny Depp was captured sporting a brand-new look for his return to the Hollywood spotlight.
Lionsgate released an intriguing first look for his upcoming thriller Day Drinker, featuring an older, grayer Depp looking fully immersed in his role.
While fans expressed excitement, critics felt he was “back by unpopular demand.”
Johnny Depp’s new look in his upcoming film Day Drinker was released this week
The 61-year-old actor plays a mysterious guest aboard a private yacht in the upcoming movie directed by Marc Webb, who was the director of the internet-dividing Disney live-action film Snow White.
In the movie, Depp’s character has a fateful encounter with the yacht’s bartender, played by Glass Onion actress Madelyn Cline. As one thing leads to another, the two find themselves caught up in the web of a criminal figure, played by Penélope Cruz.
Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto and Anika Boyle will also share the film’s credits.
The upcoming thriller stars Penélope Cruz, Madelyn Cline, and more
Image credits: Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Some netizens weren’t too happy to see Depp take on his first major role in an American production following the defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard.
“Johnny Depp comes back to Hollywood for a movie about drinking. Makes sense,” one said.
“Oof this is making me respect Madelyn and Penelope less,” read a second comment.
“Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Armie Hammer, Jonathan Majors. They still keep getting a hundred chances. CAN WE JUST NOT??” a third comment said.
“I wish cancel culture was real,” one said.
With the first look, fans saw an older and grayer Depp, fully immersed in his character
Another wrote, “He looks better with grey hair, still hate him.”
“Is it an autobiography?” one asked.
On the other hand, fans expressed excitement and are eagerly awaiting the movie’s release.
“Johnny Depp is a true artist, always giving his all to every role he takes on!” said one fan.
“Oh my God! What a beautiful man he is in any role he plays! Oh my God! I love him! I admire him!!!” another wrote.
Image credits: johnnydepp
Many agreed that he “looks great with gray hair!”
“He still looks hot with gray hair,” one said, while another wrote, “This man just can’t look bad… I’m now convinced.”
“Best he’s looked in years,” said another.
“Wow I didn’t recognize him, he looks so handsome with Grey hair,” one said.
As the production for Day Drinker is underway in Spain, fans will see Depp and Cruz reunite on screen in the upcoming yacht-set thriller.
Depp and Cruz previously shared the screen for different films, including Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
They previously starred opposite each other in Blow (2001), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and Murder on the Orient Express (2017).
Depp’s role in the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) was his last film with a major distributor before his 2022 Virginia defamation trial, which included allegations of domestic violence and mistreatment.
The highly publicized courtroom drama culminated with Johnny being awarded $15 million in damages, while Heard received $2 million in her counterclaim.
After the trial largely ended in Depp’s favor, Heard moved to Spain and is currently living a quiet life with her daughter Oonagh Paige.
Reports revealed last December that she is expecting a second child.
Meanwhile, the Edward Scissorhands actor retreated from mainstream Hollywood but has remained active otherwise.
He starred in the French historical drama Jeanne du Barry, which opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. He also directed the film Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which is based on the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.
The 2022 Virginia defamation trial largely ended in Depp’s favor, after which Heard moved to Spain
During the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the Oscar nominee insisted he “didn’t go nowhere” to have a “comeback.”
“I keep wondering about the word comeback because I didn’t go anywhere,” he said during a press conference at the film festival.
“… Maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time. But no, I didn’t go nowhere,” he added. “I’ve been sitting around.”
Image credits: Stefania M. D’Alessandro/Getty Images
At the premiere of Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness at the 72nd Sebastian Film Festival last September, he seemingly referenced his defamation trial and how it turned his life into a “soap opera.”
“I think we’ve all been through a number of things, ultimately. Maybe yours wasn’t, didn’t turn into a soap opera, televised, in fact,” said the onscreen veteran.
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“But we all experience and go through what we go through. And those things that we are able to live and remember and use, these are your stripes,” he continued. “You never forget them.”
The internet was divided over the actor’s return to mainstream Hollywood
