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The Amber Heard Johnny Depp defamation trial was one of the biggest pieces of pop news for the entirety of 2022, seeming to dominate every aspect of the cultural conversation for months. As much as it seemed like everything was about Heard and Depp last year, it probably felt even more so to the two actors themselves. That probably explains why the Aquaman star is still throwing shade at her estranged former spouse, even after she has spent months out of the public eye.
Amber Heard recently attended Italy’s 69th Taormina Film Festival, which premiered In the Fire, her first film since 2021, and while she mostly restricted her comments to praising the Conor Allyn-directed drama, it seems she could not help but throw a little dig at former husband Johnny Depp.
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Specifically, Amber Heard told Deadline: “[L]et’s get the elephant out of the room then, and just let me say that. I am an actress. I’m here to support a movie. And that’s not something I can be sued for.” While the DCU star kept it fairly oblique, it is impossible to mistake that last sentence for anything but a reference to the defamation charges levied against her by Johnny Depp.
As Amber Heard points out in the interview, she has been acting professionally since she was 16, so it is not like she is just going to stop her career point blank, despite rumors that she was in hiding in Spain and would retire from films.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp Both Have Comeback Vehicles
Interestingly, both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have made their comebacks in relatively small-profile historical films that have premiered at European film festivals. Heard’s In the Fire sees her portraying Grace Burnham, a widowed American psychiatrist who travels to South America in the 1890s to treat a child suspected of being possessed by a demon; the film was co-written by director Conor Allyn, Pascal Borno, and Silvio Muraglia.
Johnny Depp’s own comeback film, Jeanne du Barry, has the actor portraying 18th-century French King Louis XV and was directed by Maïwenn (no stranger to controversy herself), who stars as the title character and co-wrote the film with Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Nicolas Livecchi. The film premiered as the opening film of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and is expected to premiere in the United States this year.
Given that both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have shown themselves capable of headlining massive blockbuster films like Aquaman and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, it is notable that both have chosen more arthouse-oriented pictures to re-introduce them to audiences. It seems that after multiple mutual allegations of domestic violence and abuse and a very public defamation trial, testing the water before diving in is the safe bet.
Related: Disney Makes Major Changes to Johnny Depp on Pirates of the Caribbean
Amber Heard Will Return to the DCU
Speaking of which, Amber Heard is expected to reprise the role of Mara in the upcoming DC film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom alongside Jason Momoa. The extent to which her role has been edited, adjusted, or minimized has been the subject of much debate over the last year, with the Walt Disney Company (which owns both the DCU and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) staying mostly silent regarding the Amber Heard Johnny Depp defamation case. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to be released on December 20, so we will finally get a chance to see what’s left of Heard’s role.