Johnny Depp’s first film since his heated defamation court case with Amber Heard will open the Cannes Film Festival, organisers have announced.

Jeanne Du Barry, a French language film, is directed by, and stars, Maiwenn Le Besco, (known simply as Maiwenn) as the titular character who rises from poverty, to the circles of King Louis XV – played by Depp.

It will get its world premiere on 16 May at the famous film festival at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, as well as a cinematic release the same day.

It is Depp‘s first major acting role since the 2020 independent film Minamata in which he played war photographer W. Eugene Smith.

The actor, 59, won the high-profile legal battle against Heard in the US in June.

Depp sued his former wife over a 2018 article she wrote for The Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, which his lawyers said falsely accused him of being an abuser.

Representatives for the actor said he had lost work opportunities and high-profile roles, such as being dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, after the accusations.

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He was also forced by Warner Bros to leave the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts in 2020 after he lost his libel case against The Sun newspaper, which had described him as a “wife beater”.

Depp won the case and Heard settled the suit, dropping her appeals.

Since the conclusion of the court case last June, he has made cameos at the MTV Video Music Awards, and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion show.

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He also appeared as an animated puffin in Johnny Puff: Secret Mission – but Jeanne Du Barry marks his first feature film appearance.

Maiwenn is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Jury Prize in 2011, and being nominated for the Palme D’or in 2015.

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