Amber Heard promotes new film 1 year after Depp trial following talk she’s leaving Hollywood

Amber Heard is returning to the spotlight — sort of.

This weekend, the “Aquaman” star, 37, appeared relaxed and happy at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival as she promoted her new movie “In the Fire,” a year after the conclusion of her infamous defamation trial with ex-husband, Johnny Depp. The appearance comes amid speculation that Heard is leaving Hollywood behind following the online circus that ensued from the case.

Heard and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, 60, spent the beginning of last summer as the central preoccupation of the internet as they accused each other of career-altering defamation. Much of the time spent in court saw the former couple airing dirty laundry that oftentimes was not directly related to the actors’ allegations.

Depp sued his ex-wife for $50 million over a Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” While Heard didn’t name Depp specifically in the piece, she had previously accused him of domestic abuse. She countersued him for $100 million, citing his former attorney dubbed her allegations a hoax.

A Virginia judge ruled in favor of Depp, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which were capped by the state. Heard was awarded $2 million in her counterclaim. She eventually paid Depp $1 million, after the pair dropped their respective appeals and reached a settlement.

Heard’s new film, “In the Fire,” centers on a female doctor in 1890s who makes her way to a plantation to help a boy with strange abilities, while some locals believe him to be possessed.