Johnny Depp could make a comeback to the ‘Pirate of the Caribbean’ franchise.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow
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 his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2018, for which he was cleared in court.
Variety is now reporting that the studio is considering bringing Depp back for another film.
According to the outlet, Disney has not yet approached the ‘Edward Scissorhands’ star about possibly returning to the series, but have commissioned ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer to develop two different scripts with and without Depp depending on if the studio can reconcile with the actor.
A source said: “Nothing has been ruled out.”
The outlet suggested Disney has been weighing up its options since the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ actor prevailed against Heard in his 2022 defamation case against his ex-wife.
Depp 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 ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, though was dropped in December 2018 - just 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 the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ star from the series, Disney production chief Sean Bailey said that the studio wanted to challenge writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese - who were attached to the sixth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ 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 ‘Pirate of the Caribbean’ films - which Jerry Bruckheimer previously confirmed the 'Barbie' actress' project would be a reboot of the franchise.
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ 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.”
While Depp’s future in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series is uncertain, his former co-star Keira Knightley recently said she would never make franchise movies again.
The actress, who played Elizabeth Swan in the first three films, said her time in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ flicks had a detrimental affect on her career and cites her starring role in the franchise as “the reason that [she] was taken down publicly”.
She explained to the UK newspaper The Times: “It’s a funny thing when you have something that was making and breaking you at the same time.
“I was seen as s*** because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for.
“They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head.”
Tagged in Jerry Bruckheimer Johnny Depp Orlando Bloom