Even before he was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Johnny Depp’s star had been in decline for a number of years after a string of critical and commercial disappointments, ones that were admittedly offset by the occasional stellar performance like his turn in Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass, but more often than not saw him reverting to type by throwing on a strange wig and doing an accent.
Even though he seems to be viewed as the sympathetic party in his ongoing legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard, the constant waves of unwanted publicity have done his standing in the industry no favors, so much so that rumors are making the rounds that he’s begging longtime friend Robert Downey Jr. to get him a job, with the Iron Man star responding in kind by reportedly offering Depp a role in Sherlock Holmes 3.
Of course, he’s still a part of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, but things aren’t looking great on that front, either, after he played the title character in what was comfortably the worst entry in the entire Wizarding World from both a critical and commercial perspective. However, we’re now hearing that the 57 year-old has another big name property in his sights, and wants to become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us Marvel were working on Disney Plus shows for She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel before either of them were announced – Depp is a huge fan of Ghost Rider and has told Marvel he wants to be involved in the reboot, with villain Bounty Hunter his preferred role.
The bad guy unsurprisingly lives up to his moniker, and can generally be seen riding a black horse as he tracks down his targets wielding a shotgun powered by Hellfire in the employ of Mephisto. There’s no guarantee that he’ll get his wish, but with Keanu Reeves strongly linked to the MCU’s Ghost Rider, if the project gets the official green light in the near future, then Depp could very well find himself under consideration to star as the villain.
