Los Angeles, May 29 (IANS): Hollywood star Johnny Depp is rumoured to be making his post-trial film comeback by starring in 'Beetlejuice 2'.
According to aceshowbiz.com, 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 'Beetlejuice' sequel.
Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder are also rumoured to be reprising their roles from director Tim Burton's 1988 original alongside Depp.
The rumour started making the rounds ahead of the jury in Depp's defamation case against former wife Amber Heard being dismissed to deliberate on the feud.
The 1998 film revolved around a dead married couple, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, 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 in the follow up, especially after his gruelling days in court fighting to prove he is not a domestic abuser.
Ryder, who played goth Lydia Deetz in 'Beetlejuice' and was engaged to Depp for three years from July 1990, has defended her former fiance Depp throughout his legal battles.
She said her experience with the actor is "wildly different" than the allegations that Heard has made.
"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," Ryder said in court in July 2020.
"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' that 'Beetlejuice 2' will go ahead.
She confirmed on May 24 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."
'Beetlejuice 2' would again reunite Depp with his long-standing collaborator director Tim Burton, who has cast Depp in eight of his films including 'Ed Wood' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.
It is slated for release in the summer of 2025.