See Johnny Depp as King Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry Clip (Exclusive)

Johnny Depp strikes a kingly figure in his new movie. 

In the French-language biopic Jeanne du Barry, the actor, 60, plays King Louis XV. New clips from the drama shared exclusively with PEOPLE offer glimpses of a scandalous arrival to the palace of Versailles: his mistress Madame du Barry, played by director and co-writer Maïwenn.

In the first clip, Depp can be seen in full regalia as the 18th-century monarch of France, waiting impatiently for Jeanne du Barry’s grand entrance.

Wearing a lavish cream-colored gown and pale, sky-high hair adorned with flowers, Maïwenn stuns the assembled crowd — who proceed to gasp when she improperly curtsies before the king. 

Jeanne du Barry, Depp’s first movie in years, opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last May alongside a buzzy theatrical release in France. Distributor Vertical then acquired North American distribution rights for a limited U.S. release starting May 2. 

Based on a real-life woman from history, the title character is “a working-class woman determined to climb the social ladder, using her charms to escape her impoverished life,” per Jeanne du Barry’s synopsis. 

“Her lover, the Comte du Barry (Melvil Poupaud), wishes to present her to King Louis XV and orchestrates a meeting through the influential Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard). The encounter goes far beyond his expectations for it was love at first sight for the King and Jeanne,” it continues. 

“Through this ravishing courtesan, the king rediscovers his appetite for life and feels he can no longer live without her. Making Jeanne his last official mistress, scandal erupts as no one at Court will accept a girl from the streets into their rarified world.”

A second clip from the film shows Maïwenn practicing that all-important Versailles-specific curtsy. Privately in her chambers, the mistress — much to her exasperation — is tutored on the acceptable ways to greet and retreat from Louis XV.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

At the movie’s U.K. premiere held at the Curzon Mayfair theater on April 15, Depp told the crowd he felt “strangely, oddly, perversely lucky” to play the monarch, according to a report from Variety.

“When Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France … what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried,” joked the Pirates of the Caribbean star. “So you realize that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.”

Jeanne du Barry is in select theaters May 2.