What's Next for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard After Contentious Trial? From Aquaman 2 to Depp's Music

How will Johnny Depp and Amber Heard move on after their explosive legal battle?

After six weeks of shocking testimony from friends, family and each other, the famous exes have had their private lives aired out in the Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom and the world at large. With the highly publicized trial coming to a close soon (the jury is currently deliberating on Depp's defamation claims and Heard's countersuit), here's what's next for Depp, 58, and Heard, 36.

Amber Heard: Living in the desert with Aquaman 2 on the horizon

During her testimony, Heard revealed she lives in Yucca Valley, California, a desert town near Joshua Tree National Park. She's mom to 1-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige. Heard has shared various photos of herself winding down in desert-filled landscapes, including one from February that she captioned, "Wandering…"

Explaining how the trial has affected her, Heard said on the witness stand that it's been "agonizing" for her to relive her alleged traumas publicly — and face death threats daily.

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"I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day. Even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life, things that I've lived through, used to humiliate me. People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to put my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that," said Heard.

"Perhaps it's easy to forget that, but I'm a human being," she said, adding, "I just want Johnny to leave me alone. I don't deserve this. I want to move on."

In terms of her career, Heard has two movie roles already completed.

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She'll return as Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a sequel to the blockbuster 2018 original that also stars Jason Momoa. Filming is already done, with a release date currently set for March 17, 2023. Heard testified that her role in the film was "pared down" because of the Depp controversy, though DC Films President Walter Hamada testified that her part was never intended to be central to the sequel, describing it as a "buddy-comedy" between Momoa and Patrick Wilson.

Heard said she "fought really hard to stay in" Aquaman's sequel when "they didn't want to include me in the film."

The actress also finished work on an independent movie titled In the Fire right before the trial began in April. "That's a wrap!" she wrote on Instagram March 28, sharing a photo of herself leaping on a mountainside in her 19th-century costume for the thriller.

Johnny Depp: Playing a King and promises of more music

Depp, meanwhile, voices a cartoon puffin named Johnny Puff on an international animated series called Puffins Impossible. His French movie Jeanne du Barry, directed by his costar Maïwenn, is in the works with the three-time Oscar nominee in the role of King Louis XV. The movie was being shopped around for distributors at Cannes, according to Deadline.

Depp and his talent agent testified about the actor being unable to land a big-budget studio film in the wake of his controversy with Heard, claiming he lost a $22.5 million payday for being in a scrapped sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. His former longtime agent, however, testified that Depp had begun cultivating a negative track record for being "unprofessional" and late to movie sets, making studios "reluctant" to hire him.

Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer behind the Pirates franchise, said in a recent interview with the U.K.'s The Sunday Times that Depp is not intended to be in another Pirates movie at the moment: "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided," he said of a possible Depp return as Capt. Jack Sparrow.

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Per his Instagram bio, Depp is an "occasional thespian," and as he testified in court, music has always been his first passion. Days after cases were closed in the trial, in fact, Depp was making surprise appearances in England playing guitar onstage with rocker Jeff Beck multiple nights. He is also part of the band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.

On Beck's website, Depp is referred to as the musician's "unexpected co-conspirator," adding that the pair had "been working on music together for a while now." Beck added at the time, "You'll be hearing more from Johnny and me in a little while but until then we hope you find some comfort and solidarity in our take on this Lennon classic."

Other than work, Depp is dad to daughter actress Lily-Rose, who turned 23 years old on Friday as closing arguments were made, and son Jack, who turned 20 earlier this year. He shares them with his ex, French singer Vanessa Paradis.

Depp explained during his testimony that his "goal is the truth" in the court case, adding that he hopes to "clear the record" of the allegations made against him by Heard. Depp added of Heard's claims, "Since I knew there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children, who at the time were 14 and 16."

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It's been 18 months since Depp lost his U.K. libel case. Back in November 2020, the actor lost the libel lawsuit case in London against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled.

When that verdict came in, Depp announced that he had agreed to step down from his role in Warner Bros.'s Fantastic Beasts franchise. He was later replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which hit theaters in April with the lowest box office performance of the Harry Potter franchise.

Reps for the two stars did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.

As for what's at stake with this trial? Depp is seeking $50 million in damages, arguing that Heard's 2018 op-ed about coming forward with domestic abuse claims tarnished his reputation and career, even though it didn't mention him by name. In turn, Heard is countersuing for $100 million, claiming he defamed her when his lawyer Adam Waldman gave public statements calling her allegations an "abuse hoax" and "fake."

About the $100 million in damages Heard is seeking, her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft said in closing arguments that they arrived at that number — double of Depp's damages — to send "a message back." She explained to the jury, "We're not asking you to give $100 million. We're asking you to just look at the damages in this case and just be fair and reasonable in whatever you determine."