‘Day Drinker’ sets release date as first teaser reveals Johnny Depp’s transformation
Johnny Depp looks markedly different in the first teaser for ‘Day Drinker,’ a thriller that puts him aboard a private yacht with Madelyn Cline. The footage introduces Depp’s character, Kelly, with grey hair, a thick beard, and blue eyes. Tarot cards, candles, and an axe hint at what follows. Lionsgate has also confirmed when the film will reach theaters.
‘Day Drinker’ will open in theaters on March 26, 2027. Cline plays Lorna, a bartender on a private yacht, while Depp plays the guest she meets on board. Penélope Cruz plays a criminal figure. The official logline says, “In 'Day Drinker,' a private-yacht bartender (Madelyn Cline) encounters a mysterious, onboard guest (Johnny Depp). They soon find themselves entangled with a criminal figure (Penélope Cruz) and connected in ways no one saw coming.”
Kelly is forced to the ground and arrested in the footage. Other shots show violence involving a gun and an axe. He offers several possible explanations for his story. “My story? Perhaps it’s a tale of revenge. Or perhaps something worse. What if all of this is a ghost story? Or maybe I’m just another day drinker?” he says in the trailer.
The footage does not explain how Cruz’s character fits into the story. He tells someone, “I’ve made a living out of misbehavior,” before adding, “I see no tangible reason to stop now.” The trailer cuts between scenes at sea and the violence surrounding him. It leaves Cruz’s character’s motives unclear.
Marc Webb directed the film from a script by Zach Dean. Its cast also includes Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto, Anika Boyle, and more. For Depp and Cruz, ‘Day Drinker’ marks their fourth film together after ‘Blow,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ and ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’ Cline is known for playing Sarah Cameron in Netflix’s ‘Outer Banks.’
The Lionsgate film was the first studio project Depp filmed after ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ in 2018. He is also set to appear as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s ‘Ebenezer,’ which is scheduled for November 13. It reaches theaters before ‘Day Drinker,’ despite having been filmed later. The teaser leaves the full nature of Kelly’s connection to Lorna and Cruz’s character unexplained.
