Johnny Depp's Career Is Going Great! (JK!)

By Kristy Puchko | Film | April 25, 2019 |

By Kristy Puchko | Film | April 25, 2019 |

There’s not been a lot of good news for Johnny Depp lately. New details have emerged about the domestic abuse he allegedly inflicted on his ex-wife, including his alleged attempt to get her fired from Aquaman. And that has Warner Bros. thinking it might not be great business (not to mention morally f*cked) to have an alleged wife-beater at the center of their Fantastic Beasts franchise. Plus, the Pirates of the Carribean franchise will reboot without him and his Australia-offending antics. But, Depp movies keeping dropping. Or getting dropped. The latest is The Professor, a comedy about a harried college professor who becomes a real “party animal” once he discovers he only has six months to live.

Want to watch Johnny Depp drink excessively, bully a young woman, and generally act like a reckless ass? Then, I guess this trailer is just gravy for you.

The Professor premiered on DIRECTV on April 18 ahead of its theatrical debut on May 17. It’s a release strategy that makes sense since Depp’s repeatedly proven he’s a bad investment at the box office. In both 2015 and 2016, he was named the most overpaid actor because of the obscene amounts of money he’s made making flops. Then, despite all the fawning of J.K. Rowling and David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald wasn’t helped by Depp’s presence. The sequel made $160 million less than Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them did worldwide. And domestically, this Harry Potter universe movie made $90 million less than the lowest grossing in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

But hey, the good news for Depp is that The Professor is at least getting a release. After Depp allegedly punched a crew member on the set of Brad Furman’s City of Lies, that vehicle was pulled from the Fall 2018 release schedule, and may be shelved indefinitely. But hey, maybe another profile piece could turn things around? Probably not.