If you’ve been keeping half an eye on the trades lately, you know the narrative around Johnny Depp has shifted from courtroom drama to film sets. It’s been a weird few years for him. Honestly, for a while there, it felt like he might just vanish into his estate in France and never look at a camera again. But 2025 has turned into a massive pivot point.
We aren't just talking about one "Johnny Depp new movie 2025" project. There are actually several moving parts to his comeback, ranging from gritty indie biopics he directed himself to high-octane Hollywood thrillers that signal his formal return to the big studio system.
The Big One: Modi - Three Days on the Wing of Madness
This is probably the project that defines his current headspace. It’s not a pirate movie. It’s not a Tim Burton fever dream. It’s a biographical drama about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, and interestingly, Depp stayed behind the camera for most of it. This marks his first time directing a feature since The Brave back in 1997.
The film covers a chaotic 72-hour window in 1916 Paris. Think war-torn streets, bohemian excess, and a desperate search for artistic recognition. Riccardo Scamarcio plays the lead, but the heavy hitter in the cast is Al Pacino, who plays an international art collector.
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Release Update: While the film did the festival rounds in late 2024 (premiering at San Sebastián and Rome), Vertical acquired the North American rights for a theatrical run. In the U.S., Modi hit theaters on November 7, 2025. If you missed it in the cinema, it's heading to streaming platforms as we move into early 2026.
People who’ve seen it say it’s "extravagant" and "lavish." It’s definitely a passion project. Depp has been trying to get a Modigliani story made for decades, and he finally pulled it off with the help of the Red Sea Film Foundation and his own production company, IN.2 Film.
The Hollywood Comeback: Day Drinker
If Modi was about artistic integrity, Day Drinker is about the business of being a movie star again. This is the big "Johnny Depp new movie 2025" fans were waiting for because it’s a major studio production from Lionsgate. It's a thriller directed by Marc Webb—the guy who did 500 Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man.
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The setup is pretty classic:
- The Lead: Madelyn Cline (from Outer Banks) plays a bartender on a private yacht.
- The Mystery: Depp plays an enigmatic "day drinker" who boards the boat.
- The Connection: Penélope Cruz is back as a high-stakes criminal figure.
This is the fourth time Depp and Cruz have worked together, following Blow, On Stranger Tides, and Murder on the Orient Express. Their chemistry is usually bulletproof. Production took place throughout 2025 in Spain, and while the teaser images show a weathered, gray-bearded Depp looking very different from his Jack Sparrow days, the buzz is surprisingly high.
What’s On the Horizon for 2026?
While we are focusing on 2025, you can't ignore what’s being filmed right now. Paramount Pictures recently confirmed that Depp is starring in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.
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This isn't your standard Muppet-style holiday flick. It's being directed by Ti West, the mastermind behind horror hits like X and Pearl. It’s described as a "thrilling ghost story" set in Dickens’ London. Expect something much darker than the versions we grew up with. That one is officially slated for November 13, 2026.
Is This Really a "Comeback"?
It depends on who you ask. For the industry, seeing him lead a Lionsgate film (Day Drinker) is the real signal that the "blacklisting" era is over. He’s also playing Satan in Terry Gilliam’s The Carnival at the End of Days, though that project has faced some delays because, well, it’s a Terry Gilliam movie and they are notoriously difficult to get across the finish line.
The reality is that Depp seems less interested in the $200 million blockbusters and more focused on working with "his" people—directors like Gilliam and co-stars like Cruz.
How to catch up on the latest releases:
- Check Local Listings: Modi is currently in its tail-end theatrical run or moving to VOD (Video on Demand) depending on your region.
- Watch for the Day Drinker Trailer: With filming wrapped, expect a full trailer for Day Drinker to drop soon, likely ahead of a summer 2026 release.
- Follow Indie Distributors: Projects like Jeanne du Barry (where he plays King Louis XV) and Modi are often handled by smaller companies like Vertical or Magnolia, so they might not pop up on the front page of Netflix immediately.
The best way to see the new era of his career is to look toward the European productions and the darker, character-driven thrillers. The days of him being a "Disney actor" are likely in the rearview mirror, but as a director and a character actor, 2025 proved he's still very much in the game.