Johnny Depp's New & Upcoming Movies: 2017 And Beyond

As one of the world’s biggest movie stars, Johnny Depp has fronted many of the most popular movie releases of the last two decades. Depp is undoubtedly the king of kooky, and has added his larger-than-life characters (complete with crazy costumes) to twisted fantasies, crime dramas and big action blockbusters.

The last year or so has not been a good year for Depp however; his messy divorce from Amber Heard and financial troubles have tarnished his once pristine public image. Nevertheless, he's back to his swashbuckling ways in 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is already generating a lot of buzz.

His return to #PiratesoftheCaribbean sees him on safe and familiar ground, but following this, what’s next for the Hollywood stalwart? Well, personal troubles aside, we’ll be seeing plenty of Johnny Depp for the next year or so, since he’s sailing into our local cinemas in a host of upcoming movies.

Want to know more about Johnny Depp’s eight impending, non-piratical projects? Then let’s take a look!

1) Murder On The Orient Express

Release Date: 3rd November 2017

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Penélope Cruz & Judy Dench

If you’re a fan of both Johnny Depp and murder mysteries, then Christmas will be coming early for you, in the form of Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie’s book of the same name. Depp rounds out an absolutely stunning cast, which also includes Kenneth Branagh himself, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley.

Whilst Branagh will be sleuthing away as Hercule Poirot, ol’ Johnny himself will play a certain Mr. Edward Ratchett: a menacing mobster, kidnapper, and all-around despicable cad. Depp’s previous roles as gangsters in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies and Donnie Brasco will definitely come in handy here!

Is he the murderer on the titular Orient Express? Will he get away with his heinous crimes? We’ll have to wait until November to find out! (Or, you could read that book — but at this point, isn't that cheating?)

2) LAbyrinth

Releases Date: Late 2017 (TBA)

Director: Brad Furman

Cast: Forest Whitaker & Toby Huss

After all this time, the horrible murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls/The Notorious B.I.G. have yet to be solved, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating about the cases right up until the present day. LAbyrinth looks set to reintroduce us to the case, dramatizing the aftermath of these homicides, with Johnny Depp playing the part of the LAPD detective Russell Poole, and Forrest Whitaker starring as a journalist who partners up with him to try and solve the case.

Based on Randall Sullivan’s acclaimed book, Depp began filming for LAbyrinth several months ago for its apparent release later this year; however, no date has been confirmed for the movie yet.

Release Date: 2017 (TBA)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke, Theodore Melfi & Sam Raimi

Cast: J.K. Simmons, Laura Dern & David Lynch

Johnny Depp is known to dress up as Captain Jack Sparrow to entertain sick children at the Great Ormond Street Hospital. However, he recently embarked on another, very different kind of philanthropic venture for the Make a Film Foundation.

Telling the story of a young man trying to find and protect the girl he loves in a zombie apocalypse, The Black Ghiandola was directed by also stars David Lynch, J.K. Simmons and Laura Dern. The Make a Film Foundation funded and produced this short film for filmmaker and writer Anthony Conti, who unfortunately passed away before the film’s Hollywood premiere in March.

It’s unclear whether The Black Ghiandola will get a wider release outside of film festivals, but here’s hoping that it does! The trailer itself is darn spooky, and if Depp’s nonchalant medic does end up getting munched on, it’s sure to be an entertaining moment!

4) Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes

Release Date: 23rd March 2018

Director: John Stevenson

Cast: James McAvoy & Emily Blunt

Gnomeo & Juliet proved to be a sleeper hit, so, in predictable Hollywood fashion, a sequel was soon announced — but this one now comes with added Depp. Following on from the happy ending of the first movie, when gnomes start disappearing from English gardens, Gnomeo, Juliet and co. call upon the great detective Sherlock Gnomes (*groans*) to help them out.

As we’ve all realized by now, Johnny Depp loves bringing quirky characters to life, and the part of Sherlock Gnomes sounds like its right up Depp's alley. Indeed, through the course of the movie, Gnomeo and Juliet will apparently discover that Gnomes is not as perceptive as his human counterpart. In fact, it sounds like he’s pretty incompetent!

5) The Invisible Man Reboot

Release Date: 13th April 2018

Director: TBA

Cast: TBA

With this update of H.G. Well’s story, Depp is set to join another major movie franchise: Universal’s Dark Universe! We don’t know too much about this picture just yet, although it’s confirmed that it will feature Depp as a man who can turn...well, invisible, and it will be connected to Tom Cruise’s The Mummy in some shape or form. Personally, I wouldn't rule out an appearance of a certain Doctor Jekyll...

Story-wise, there are numerous iterations that the reboot can draw from. Most adaptations tell the story of the psychotic scientist Griffin, who develops a compound which turns him invisible. However, the original story has him lusting for power before his transformation, whilst others have shown him to develop these tendencies as side-effects to his condition and isolation.

Again, it’s unclear what path the film will take, but I’d wager that the filmmakers will borrow some of the darker aspects from Kevin Bacon’s The Hollow Man and that they'll put Depp’s distinctive vocal chords to good use for scenes where we can’t see him.

6) Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them Sequel

Release Date: 16th November 2018

Director: David Yates

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Zoë Kravitz & Jude Law

He may have only appeared for several moments in the first #FantasticBeasts movie, but his brief turn as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was certainly memorable. The second entry in this #HarryPotter prequel series is probably the most anticipated movie in Johnny Depp’s roster. It’s not just because Harry Potter is still as wildly popular as ever, it’s also due to the fact that Depp’s #Grindelwald is now set to battle Jude Law’s incarnation of a young Albus Dumbledore. With Newt (Redmayne), Tina (Waterston) and friends sure to be caught in the middle of this burgeoning wizard-war, filming is set to commence this summer, and honestly, we here at Movie Pilot can’t wait to see it play out!

7) King of the Jungle

Release Date: TBA

Directors: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa

Cast: TBA

I think that everyone on the internet can say that they’ve been pestered by McAfee for downloads, updates and whatnot, at one time or another. Well, now directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa of Crazy Stupid Love fame are giving us a look at the man behind the annoying software - but don’t scroll away just yet! The premise is crazier than you might think.

Inspired by a Joshua Davis's Wired article, King of the Jungle will see the young journalist journey to visit John McAfee (Depp) and tour his property. The catch? At this point in time, McAfee had been accused of murder, and his Belize compound was an Apocalypse Now-esque situation, filled with paranoia, machine guns, sex and drugs.

Promising to be a darkly humorous tale in the same vein of War Dogs, it should be great to see Depp play another charismatic, morally grey character.

8) Richard Says Goodbye

Release Date: TBA

Director: Wayne Roberts

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Danny Huston, Rosemarie DeWitt & Devon Terrell

Shooting recently begun on this intriguing movie, and the premise has certainly piqued our interest. In Richard Says Goodbye, Depp plays a mild-mannered college professor who reportedly "...receives a life-changing diagnosis that causes him to throw every previously held caution to the wind."

Casting off his inhibitions will involve lots of intentional rudeness, drink, drugs and sex; lots of people have already drawn comparisons between the downward spiral of Richard and that of Depp himself, and the thespian does seem quite suitable for the role. After all, he has experience of detailing another unraveling life in David Koepp‘s thriller Secret Window, which was a loose adaptation of #StephenKing’s novella Secret Window, Secret Garden.

And there you have it! One thing is clear from the most cursory glance: Depp doesn’t need to solely rely on #TimBurton’s projects for work, and there’s more to him than crazy hair and pirate catchphrases. This page will be kept updated with the latest news of Johnny Depp’s movies, so keep checking back to stay informed!