Anyone who stayed up to watch MTV's famous Video Music Awards last night will be forgiven for rubbing their eyes and wondering if they were hallucinating as Johnny Depp, dressed up in a spaceman suit, floated repeatedly onto their screens.
The actor, 59, is enjoying an apparent public comeback which peaked at the VMAs. Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and Harry Styles may have been among the biggest winners of the glitzy evening in Newark, New Jersey, where they scooped gongs galore. But, in a bizarre pre-recorded bit that showed Depp, 59, cosplaying as the music channel's famous Moonman logo – a silver astronaut trophy handed out to award-winners – the Pirates of the Caribbean actor caused quite the stir.
This was his first major television appearance since his infamous defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in June, a culture shock to say the least.
Hovering above the stage via a holographic projection, Depp delivered one-line gags in between commercial breaks. 'I needed the work,' he announced, as the annual ceremony opened.
He declared he was available for 'birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, anything you need… anything' - adding: 'Oh, I'm also a dentist.'
And, after another, he simply deadpanned: 'Hey VMAs, let’s get back to the fucking music, shall we?'
The stunt drew a mixed reaction on Twitter. A Johnny Depp loyalist wrote: 'Johnny Depp is so funny and I'm so happy to see him move on from the negative hate and lies.'
But another said: 'Why did Johnny Depp make an appearance at the VMAs? So bloody creepy and out of touch MTV'.
Johnny Depp's carefully choreographed comeback is gathering speed after winning his multi-million court battle with Heard. A source tipped off the New York Post last week that the star would appear at the VMAs.
First came his post-trial backing cameos with his rock star pal Jeff Beck, at which Johnny Depp would appear on stage playing guitar at venues like London's Royal Albert Hall.
More recently came the news that Depp will play his first starring role since claiming victory in the legal battle in Fairfax County, Virginia, earlier this year: as King Louis XV in the French film Jeanne Du Barry.
A week later, it was announced that Depp is set to direct his first feature film in 25 years, called Modi, which is about the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.
And Mads Mikkelson, who replaced Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in 2020 after Depp was forced to quit when he lost an earlier High Court libel trial against The Sun over the newspaper's description of him as a 'wife beater', has also said this month that Depp 'might' return to the franchise.
Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, as reported by Deadline, Mikkelsen praised Depp as an 'amazing actor' and said taking over the role from him was 'very intimidating'.
Depp won his legal case against Heard star over the 2018 article she wrote for The Washington Post, about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse. His lawyers said that Heard falsely implied that Depp abused her during their relationship.
In June, the jury shared their verdicts, finding that Heard had defamed Depp on all three counts. She was demanded to award him $10m (£8.4m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4.2m) in punitive damages. Heard was found to have a partial win in her case and was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.