Johnny Depp may be making his way down the Croissette. Variety reports that Jeanne du Barry, a historical drama directed by French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn and starring Depp will open the 76th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, May 16. Per the festival, the film will be released in French theaters on the same day.
The film will mark Depp’s first major film role in over three years, since his lengthy and controversial legal battle against ex-wife Amber Heard that led to a defamation trial which Depp won in June of 2022. (Both appealed the decision and then Heard settled with Depp for a reported $1 million in December.) Since then, he’s been keeping a relatively low profile, spending his days antiquing in the English countryside, according to the Daily Mail.
Jeanne du Barry follows the tumultuous relationship between King Louis XV of France, played by Depp, and his lover Jeanne du Barry, played by Maïwenn, who lived with Louis XV in Versailles despite not being of noble birth. Louis XV was France’s second-longest-reigning monarch, sitting atop the throne for nearly 59 years before dying in relative disgrace after being accused of corruption. Depp and Maïwenn star in the French-language film alongside Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, Pascal Greggory, and India Hair.
Jeanne du Barry is produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Grégoire Sorlat’s Paris-based company Why Not Productions, with Goodfellas, the company behind Titane, handling world sales. According to Variety, the Kentucky-born Depp speaks French in the film and only knew a little French before filming. Depp apparently considers himself something of a Francophone having been in a relationship with French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis from 1998 to 2012, and having owned various properties in the country on and off. In 2021, the actor referred to the country as his “home” on the news channel France 24.
Maïwenn has previously competed at the festival: taking home the Jury Prize for her film Polisse in 2011, earning Emmanuelle Bercot a best-actress award for the film Mon Roi in 2015, and was set to premiere her semi-autobiographical film DNA in 2020. It’s not confirmed whether Depp will attend the Cannes premiere or whether the film will compete in the competition. Jeanne du Barry now joins other high-profile Cannes premieres including Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, James Mangold’s sequel Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.
