Johnny Depp’s Latest Film Shelved a Month Before Release

Johnny Depp’s latest film, City of Lies, was due out on September 7, however it now appears that it won’t be getting a release at all.

The film was set to star Depp and Forrest Whitaker and follow the investigation of the murder of Notorious BIG, also known as Biggie Smalls, set a year after the death of Tupac Shakur. Depp was set to play the leading role as Detective Russel Poole, with Whitaker playing the journalist Jack Johnston who teams up with Poole to solve the case. It was to be directed by Brad Furman.

However, the distributor, Global Road Entertainment, said to the press on Monday (August 7), that the film was no longer scheduled for the September release and did not provide a new date.

This comes after Depp was sued by the location manager of the film, Gregg Brooks. Brooks claims that when informing Depp that they had to wrap up shooting in compliance with city permits, Depp grew angry and punched him. He also claims that he was fired 3 days later when he refused to sign a release form that would waive his right to sue.

This latest scandal comes amid a series of bad press stories, including alleged domestic abuse, settling a fraud case against his one-time business managers and a damning in-depth interview with Rolling Stone.

Depp’s next film is Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. While the studio received widespread criticism for hiring Depp, director David Yates and writer JK Rowling defended their decision. It is set to be released on November 16.