It has been less than four months since a jury reached a decision in the acrimonious defamation trial between former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which was broadcast live for the world to watch. And though many of us are understandably still fatigued over the coverage and are not looking to revisit the topic anytime soon, for better or worse, Tubi has just released the trailer for its upcoming original movie, Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial. But if we’re being completely honest — probably for worse!
The TV movie stars Mark Hapka (Days of Our Lives), 40, as the 59-year-old Depp, doing what appears to be a poor man’s version of the Johnny Depp courtroom costume that we’ll be seeing everywhere this Halloween. Meanwhile, Megan Davis (Alone in the Dark) plays a budget crime reenactment version of Amber Heard, while Melissa Marty (Station 19) stars as Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez, and last but not least, Marry Carrig (Law & Order True Crime) as Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft.
It’s presently unclear whether Depp’s other lawyer-turned-paramour, Joelle Rich, will be a character in the film, as the development about the pair being an item only broke last week. Such are the hazards of making a movie about a real-life courtroom drama before the ink on the appeal has even had a chance to dry!
On June 1, after 13 hours of deliberations, a Virginia jury found largely in favor of Depp, ordering Heard to pay him a settlement of $15 million, while the 36-year-old was awarded just $2 million in her counter-suit. However, due to punitive damages restrictions in Virginia, the judge capped the total amount that Heard owes Depp to around $10.4 million.
Going by the trailer alone, it seems highly unlikely that the movie will bring anything new to the table, as the world already endured months of commentary, think pieces, and yes, plenty of hot takes, as to which party was more guilty of domestic abuse during Depp and Heard’s tumultuous, year-long marriage.
In either case, we won’t have long to find out, as Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial streams premieres on Tubi this Friday, Sept. 30.