Actor Johnny Depp takes a break during his trial at Fairfax County Courthouse. Photo / Getty Images
Actor Johnny Depp takes a break during his trial at Fairfax County Courthouse. Photo / Getty Images
Johnny Depp is rumoured to be making his post-trial film comeback by starring in Beetlejuice 2.
Fans have flooded social media with the claim after they noticed the embattled actor's name seemed to appear on a call sheet found when they said they searched on Google for the upcoming Beetlejuice 2, slated for release in the summer of 2025.
Alongside Depp are Michael Keaton, 70, and Winona Ryder, 50, both of whom are rumoured to be reprising their roles from director Tim Burton's 1988 original.
Michael Keaton. Photo / Getty Images
The rumours started making the rounds before the jury in Depp's defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, was dismissed to deliberate.
The 1998 film revolved around a dead married couple – played by Alec Baldwin, 64, and Geena Davis, 66 – who are resurrected as gormless ghosts who become hell-bent on haunting an irritating family out of their dream home.
Fans said they would be overjoyed to see Depp, 58, in the follow-up – especially after his gruelling days in court fighting to prove he is not a domestic abuser.
One said on social media: "Thrilled to see Johnny Depp added to the cast of Beetlejuice 2."
Another exclaimed: "I'm happy for Johnny!! Robert Downey Jr wants Johnny for the next Sherlock Holmes!"
But other film fans cast doubt on the rumour, one sceptic saying: "So you people did a Google search for Beetlejuice 2, saw his name pop up, and think that means he got cast in it? LMAO! I can see why you stand with him."
Winona Ryder. Photo / AP
Ryder, who played goth Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice and was engaged to Depp for three years from July 1990, has defended her ex-fiance Depp throughout his legal battles.
She said her experience with the actor Depp is "wildly different" from the allegations Heard has made.
Ryder said in court in July 2020: "I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man – an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him "I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true. I find it extremely upsetting, knowing him as I do."
Ryder – who also starred alongside Depp in Edward Scissorhands – has said she is "hopeful" Beetlejuice 2 will go ahead.
She confirmed in an interview with USA Today she would be appearing in the cast by declaring: "I'm in! I'm definitely excited and I'm really hopeful that it'll happen.
"The only way we would do it is if everything was perfect and we had all the people – obviously Michael and obviously Tim."
Actor Johnny Depp takes a break during his trial at Fairfax County Courthouse. Photo / Getty Images
The movie would again reunite Depp with his long-standing collaborator director Tim Burton, 63, who has cast Depp in eight of his films including Ed Wood and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
