Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp needs some public image rehabilitation, and badly. When it came out last year that he had physically abused former spouse Amber Heard, a dark and sickly pallor was cast over the heretofore beloved actor’s profile. It isn’t helping that he hasn’t been in a good movie since 2011 (Rango, though Verbinski’s follow-up The Lone Ranger has its supporters), and hasn’t been in a really profitable one since 2014’s Into the Woods. The guy has to save a little face if he wants to secure his future in this business, and what better way to do that than to play to the only demographic unaware of his unsavory personal life: the youth!

From horror to comedy to action, here are the must-see films hitting theaters this spring.

Disney The smartest thing that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise ever did was introduce a revolving door of ghost pirate enemies. I don’t really care why Javier Bardem’s character hates Jack Sparrow, nor do I think for a moment that this is the film that will permanently kill Johnny Depp’s character off for good, but those plots points are secondary, the franchise’s equivalent of a ghost McGuffin (a McGhostin?). All I really care about is seeing charismatic actors like Bardem play campy villains.

Unwrap ten dark, not-so-jolly holiday films.... if you dare.

Few actors have seen their stock plummet as much in the last year as Johnny Depp. Despite a long career and many memorable roles, Depp’s narrow comfort zone as an actor  —  and the domestic abuse revelations that came out during Amber Heard’s divorce proceedings  —  have made it difficult for audiences to get excited for any new projects. We can barely keep track of all the talented actors and actresses out there; why waste time with one who doesn’t deserve our admiration?

J.K. Rowling‘s wizarding world has finally returned. Now that you’ve seen the new Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and read our spoiler-free review, it’s time discuss all the spoilers, criticisms, and theories for what’s next in the five-film franchise. Take out your wands, fill up a nice cold mug of Butterbeer, and get ready to go back in time to the 1920s.

Remember that movie about the murders of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur that Johnny Depp is in, for some reason? Depp is playing a detective who tries (and, obviously, fails) to crack both cases, and Forest Whitaker has just joined the cast as Depp’s journalist buddy who is also interested to find out what actually happened to the hip hop icons.

The first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find spin-off relocates J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world to American, but don’t expect the next four films in the franchise to take place in the U.S. Director David Yates revealed last month at a Global Fan event that the sequel will find Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander in another big city that’s not New York. Now we have confirmation of where that location will be: Paris!

Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express hasn’t left the station yet, as it still doesn’t have a full cast. Angelina Jolie was considering a role in the remake, but she dropped out over this summer, and while Charlize Theron had her eye on the movie, nothing has come of that as of yet. Hopefully production on the film will start chugging along soon, because Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer are both reportedly being considered.

Johnny Depp is getting the ball rolling early at TIFF this year: it was just announced today that he will be starring in Labyrinth, an independent film about the detective who investigated the assassinations of hip-hop legends Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Labyrinth is the latest project from the production Good Films, who hopes to sell the title in Toronto this week.