Johnny Depp’s new directing deal is the latest sign his career is on the upswing after the Amber Heard trial, PR pros say

• Johnny Depp is directing a movie for the first time in 25 years on the heels of his defamation trial against Amber Heard.
• Public relations professionals told Insider that his career appears to be on the upswing.
• “Johnny Depp was always likely to emerge from the Heard-Depp legal saga with plenty of opportunities left in his career,” one expert said.

Things seem to be looking up for Johnny Depp.

The actor has performed with Jeff Beck, signed a seven-figure deal with Dior, will star as King Louis XV in a new movie, and will now direct for the first time in over 2 decades.

For Hollywood public relations professionals, the recent deals are tell-tale signs that Depp’s career is on the upswing just weeks after his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard came to a close.

The news of Depp’s return to the big screen is the latest clue that his career is “fully back in action,” Evan Nierman, CEO of Global PR Firm Red Banyan and Author of “Crisis Averted,” told Insider, adding that it was “highly unlikely” the Depp ever would have been without work.

“We should expect the floodgates to open now that the trial is behind him,” Nierman said. “We are seeing the first signs of it already, with more likely to come.”

Depp was embroiled in a legal battle with Heard for months after the pair filed lawsuits against each other alleging defamation. Depp accused Heard of defaming him in a Washington Post op-ed in which she said she was a domestic abuse survivor; Heard sued Depp after his representatives said Heard’s accusations against Depp were a “hoax/”

The trial gained international attention, and while a jury found both parties liable of defamation, Depp was handed much more in damages.

“Johnny Depp was always likely to emerge from the Heard-Depp legal saga with plenty of opportunities left in his career,” Nierman said. “The lack of conclusive evidence that he committed the abuse alleged by his ex-wife has put him back in the category of Hollywood superstar, from which he was only temporarily sidelined.”