The report of Johnny Depp returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was refuted by a Depp spokeswoman, who told NBC News that it was “made up.” Despite a recent rumor that the actor was being offered a $301 million deal to do precisely that, Johnny Depp will not be playing Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series again.
“Disney is very interested in patching up their relationship with Johnny Depp,” the source said. “They are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.”
However, the rumor has since been denied after Depp’s representatives told NBC News, per E! News: “This is made up.”
In every pirate of the Caribbean film, Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow; his most recent performance was in the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales.
The Sunday Times questioned the action series’ producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, in May about whether the Edward Scissorhands actor was in discussions to reprise his role as the beloved pirate in the midst of Depp’s defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Bruckheimer responded: “Not at this time,” but then he followed up and added: “The future is yet to be decided.”
There are apparently two separate scripts for a future Pirates film in development, with Margot Robbie tipped to play the lead in one of them. However, since Depp was fired from his role as a result of allegations against him, many of his admirers have been calling for his comeback.
Fans have also created a petition called: “We want JOHNNY DEPP back as CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW” which currently has over 875,000 signatures.
Disney has never acknowledged that Depp’s participation in upcoming PotC films was suspended because of Heard’s accusations.
Sean Bailey, executive vice president of production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture, stated the following to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018:
“We want to bring in new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul [Wernick] and Rhett [Reese] is so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.”
In his recent, well-reported defamation lawsuit against his former wife, which ended earlier this month (June 2022) as the jury unanimously agreed with the Fantastic Beasts actor, Depp’s portrayal of Jack Sparrow was a major topic.
Ben Rottenborn, Depp’s lawyer, brought up the prospect of a return to the Pirates of the Caribbean during the actor’s testimony during the six-week jury trial.
Rottenborn asked: “If Disney came to you with 300 million dollars and a million alpacas, nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film?”
To which Depp replied: “That is true.”
Although the allegations have been put to rest, it appears that Depp is concentrating on his music career as he will be touring abroad with the Hollywood Vampires next year, including Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Tommy Henriksen.
Source: vt.co
