Two of the most recognizable faces and names on the planet, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp, are some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. But one would dramatically end the other’s career in a certain franchise.

It would be hard to find a person who does not know the names Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp. Both actors have enjoyed lucrative and tenured careers in the movie industry, with an array of huge blockbuster films under their belts.
For Cruise, his work in action franchises like Mission: Impossible and Top Gun has cemented him as a leading man of the genre. His return as Peter “Maverick” Mitchell in last year’s Top Gun (1986) sequel, Top Gun: Maverick (2022), was a critical and commercial success and cited as saving the theatrical movie industry in this ever-changing streaming world. This year, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the next installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).

Actor Johnny Depp is the face of one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, The Walt Disney Company’s Pirates of the Caribbean. After having a string of successes in the 80s and 90s, Depp’s character of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) would go on to become one of the most beloved fictional heroes in the modern age. Depp stayed with the Pirates franchise until the most recent entry, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2017), whereafter he was removed from the series due to his legal trouble with ex-wife Amber Heard.
Between the pair of them, they have crossed genres multiple times, from action adventures to dramas to even musicals. Cruise and Depp have never stuck with just one. Depp’s frequent collaboration with Tim Burton has also seen him be the star in many a cult classic, including Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Corpse Bride (2005). In 2010, Depp would net a huge sum after his appearance as the Mad Hatter in Burton’s live-action Disney remake Alice in Wonderland helped the feature film soar over $1 billion worldwide.

Related: Marvel May Have to Replace Robert Downey Jr. With Tom Cruise After Stunning Announcement
Yet, with all the success comes the inevitable box office bombs. And, in fact, one Tom Cruise vehicle would end up canceling Depp’s future with a fledgling franchise.
Back in 2017, Tom Cruise would appear as U.S. Army sergeant Nick Morton in Universal Pictures’ reboot of The Mummy franchise. The Mummy (2017) found Cruise’s character on a mission against ancient evil, but even with Cruise up front and an array of other talent, including Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward Hyde, the reboot attempt would fall flat with critics and audiences. The Mummy ended its theatrical run with $410 million, losing millions due to its high production and marketing costs.

The result of The Mummy then saw Universal’s attempt at reviving its Dark Universe canceled, including Johnny Depp’s role in what would be the reboot of The Invisible Man. As movie fans later found out, The Invisible Man would eventually be released in 2020, with Elizabeth Moss leading the feature film instead of Depp.
Slated to include movies around Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Bride of Frankenstein, the Dark Universe’s discontinuation created a big hole for Universal Pictures, especially when other companies like Disney and Warner Bros. had Marvel and DC cinematic universes already going strong.
Due to Cruise’s The Mummy bombing at the box office and Johnny Depp no longer appearing in the future Dark Universe movie, The Invisible Man, Universal was down one shared cinematic universe and one hugely popular actor.

Johnny Depp’s Legal Troubles
At present, Johnny Depp is somewhat exiled from Hollywood. Currently enjoying life in Somerset, England, and touring with his band, the Hollywood Vampires, Depp hasn’t been in a big blockbuster since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) five years ago.
He appeared in Minamata in 2020 and can most recently be seen as King Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry (2023), which opened the Cannes Film Festival. As for his character of Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spinoff, Mads Mikkelsen was recast in the role following Depp’s loss at the London High Court in 2020. Following domestic abuse allegations, Depp went to court in a libel trial against The Sun and News Group Newspapers after the publication called the actor a wife-beater.

Related: Johnny Depp’s Return in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ Will Cost Disney Tens of Millions
Concerning his relationship with ex-wife and Aquaman franchise star Amber Heard, Depp would return to the courtroom last year in a $150 million defamation suit sparked by Heard’s writing of an Op-Ed in The Washington Post in late 2018. In a courtroom presided over by Judge Penney Azcarate, Heard would be found guilty of defaming Depp and ordered to pay millions in damages. Depp was also found guilty of one count of defamation through the actions of his former lawyer, Adam Waldman.
Since the defamation case in Fairfax County, Virginia, last year, Depp has apparently changed his mind on whether he would return to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Heard will next appear in DC Studios’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) in December.
Did you know Johnny Depp was set to play the Invisible Man? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!