Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer has revealed that he hasn't completely ruled out hope that Johnny Depp might return for one last film as pirate Jack Sparrow.
In an interview with The Times, Bruckheimer confirmed that the next Pirates of the Caribbean film was still in active development at Disney. "Yes. We're talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts -- one with her, one without," the producer said. When asked if Depp's character Jack Sparrow was in either script, Bruckheimer responded, "Not at this point[, but] the future is yet to be decided."
Depp's future in the swashbuckling adventure franchise has been up in the air since the actor testified that he would reject any offer for a sixth Pirates film during his $50 million defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard in April 2022. The actor ended his business relationship with Disney after the studio allegedly fired him from Pirates of the Caribbean 6 over abuse allegations from Heard. Depp has denied all allegations and claims Heard was the actual abuser during their marriage.
Despite no current interest in returning as Jack Sparrow, Depp revealed that he did originally want to keep playing the character until the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise ended. "My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye," Depp said during his testimony. "There's a way to end a franchise like that… I planned on continuing until it was time to stop."
Fans remain hopeful that Disney will mend its relationship with Depp and publicly offer him his role back in the sixth film. Two Change.org petitions from 2018 and 2020 have recently resurfaced, calling for Disney to rehire Depp because "[the franchise] will sink" and "never be able to reach that horizon" without Jack Sparrow being part of the story. The 2018 petition has already amassed over 800-thousand signatures while the 2020 petition is approaching 700,000 signatures.
The Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie has been linked to the Pirates franchise since June 2020, when reports indicated Disney was developing a female-led spinoff film alongside a proper sequel to Dead Men Tell No Tales. Robbie previously confirmed she was in talks for a role in a future Pirates film but stated the project was in its "early days" and that "I shan't say no more for now."
Pirates of the Caribbean remains one of Disney's most successful film franchises, with all installments grossing over $650 million worldwide. The fifth and currently final Pirates of the Caribbean film to feature Jack Sparrow, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2017. The swashbuckling pirate has remained a major player in the franchise outside the film series with notable appearances in the open-world video game Sea of Thieves in 2021 and in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Source: The Times