Johnny Depp calls action on his return to directing 26 years after his debut went so badly he went out of his way to block its release

Having decided that a parting of the ways was mutually beneficial to both parties, Hollywood exile Johnny Depp has embarked on the latest stage of his career, and the fallen A-list superstar seems to have decided that righting a very old wrong is at the top of his list.

All the way back in 1997, the Pirates of the Caribbean headliner stepped behind the camera to make his feature-length directorial debut on The Brave, the tale of a mysterious stranger offering a questionable deal to a freshly-released convict, with Marlon Brando joining Depp as part of the cast. Following its premiere, the reactions were so scathing from certain corners of the industry that the multi-time Academy Award nominee went out of his way to prevent it from being released either in theaters or home video in the United States, and not once has he ever considered budging from that stance.

Fast forward more than a quarter of a century, and Variety has revealed that cameras are now rolling on Modi, with Depp wielding the megaphone on a biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani that boasts Al Pacino and Riccardo Scamarcio among its number. It surely can’t go much worse than it did first time around, but that remains to be seen considering the lo-fi independent flick more than likely won’t be handed a wide release whenever the time comes.

Either way, Depp is continuing to keep himself busy now that his days as a Stateside starring attraction look to be over and done with, and maybe he’ll be able to exorcise the demons of his maiden outing as director that have seen him remain adamant for 26 years that domestic audiences will never be allowed to witness it with their own two eyes through official means.