Amber Heard returns from self-imposed exile to promote her first non-DC movie in half a decade

After one of the most high-profile courtroom battles in recent memory, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been taking their first tentative steps back into the world of cinema, although it would be fair to say that neither of their careers are quite at the same level as they were beforehand.

The former has no interest in returning to Hollywood, which is just as well when there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to cast him in a high-profile role anyway. Jeanne du Barry did get a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, but to be perfectly honest, what doesn’t these days?

As for Heard, she does have blockbuster DCU sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom coming to theaters in December, but seeing as over a million people signed a petition demanding she be fired from the project and rumors abound that her screentime has been significantly whittled down, it’s not going to be an all-conquering comeback.

However, her self-imposed exile does appear to be nearing its end, with Deadline revealing that Heard will show up in-person at Taormina Film Festival in support of In the Fire, a supernatural thriller set in 1899. Outside of her outings in Aquaman and both editions of Justice League, it’ll mark only her third onscreen credit since 2017, and first in half a decade.

The counterpoint is that the two aforementioned films in question – London Fields and Gully – were both significantly delayed, only to be buried and trashed by critics and crowds when they finally landed. Will In the Fire suffer a similar fate? It’s too early to say, but it definitely can’t be ruled out based on her involvement alone.