Pirates Of The Caribbean: Johnny Depp 'may return' to franchise as Disney reach out to star
Johnny Depp could make a comeback to the Pirate Of The Caribbean franchise.
The 61-year-old actor had been the star of the swashbuckling series for 14 years thanks to his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. But Disney dropped him after he was accused of spousal abuse against former wife Amber Heard in 2018, for which he was cleared in court.
Variety is reporting the studio is considering bringing Depp back for another film.
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A source said: “Nothing has been ruled out.”
The outlet suggested Disney has been weighing up its options since Depp prevailed against Heard in his 2022 defamation case against his ex-wife.
He first starred as Jack Sparrow in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which spawned two direct sequels: Dead Man’s Chest and ‘At World’s End, in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
Those films - which also starred Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley - were then followed by 2011’s On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales’ in 2017.
Depp was due to star in a sixth entry into the franchise, though was dropped in December 2018, four days after Heard claimed she was the victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post, in which she didn’t explicitly name the actor.
After firing Depp from the series, Disney production chief Sean Bailey said the studio wanted to challenge writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese - who were attached to the sixth Pirates movie at the time - to bring in a “new energy and vitality” to the franchise.
Bailey told The Hollywood Reporter: “I love the movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.”
Once Depp was removed from the series, Margot Robbie became attached to one of two upcoming films - which Jerry Bruckheimer previously confirmed the Barbie actress’ project would be a reboot of the franchise.
The producer told ComicBook.com: “We’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”
