Beloved Johnny Depp Character Getting A New Spin-Off

There were many years where moviegoers simply could not visit the movie theater without seeing Johnny Depp on a poster, in a trailer, or in a prominent role in the very movie they were watching. Indeed, from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise to the "Fantastic Beasts" films, Depp was a bonafide sensation in Hollywood for many decades.

Although some of the actor's first jobs in 1984's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and 1986's "Platoon" were humble enough, it didn't take him long to explode onto the Hollywood scene with a staying force. Depp received rave reviews for his role as the title characters in 1990's "Edward Scissorhands" and 1993's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Only eleven years later, the actor received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." He subsequently received two additional Oscar nominations for leading roles in 2004's "Finding Neverland" and 2005's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (via IMDb).

However, ask any moviegoer the last time they saw Depp on screen and they'll probably have to think about it for a while. Depp infamously left his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the "Fantastic Beasts" film series in November 2020 and has struggled to find work in Hollywood following accusations of domestic violence voiced by his ex-wife, "Aquaman" star Amber Heard. Although Depp hasn't starred in a hit feature in quite a while, his IMDb profile suggests he isn't completely out of the acting game. In fact, according to a new report from Variety, Depp has plans for his next role in an animated series.

According to Variety, Johnny Depp is next set to voice the central character in "Puffins Impossible," an upcoming spin-off series of "Puffins," itself an animated short form series which Depp also previously starred in (via IMDb). Per Variety, producers have explained that "Puffins Impossible" will convert the franchise into an action-adventure story of sorts, with Depp's character, Johnny Puff, set to transform into a ninja and join a team of superheroes.

Reports indicate that both Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ have already secured advance deals to distribute the new show, which is just the latest project targeted at children by producers Andrea Iervolino and Monica Bacardi (via CommonSense Media). Peter Nalli, who also worked on the similarly themed "Puffins" and "Arctic Friends," has been tapped to serve as showrunner on the project (via IMDb). Although previous iterations of the series have routinely included nine to 15 episodes per season (via IMDb), Depp's new show has already received an order for a whole 18 chapters in its inaugural season. As of this writing, no release date for the series has been set.

Interestingly, "Puffins Impossible" is the first animated series produced in the Republic of Serbia, a country which has increasingly served as a safe haven for the controversial actor. In February, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić awarded Depp a medal of honor (via Rolling Stone).