Here we go again.
There’s been these persistent rumors, for well over a year now, that Johnny Depp would be returning to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, and these latest comments from producer Jerry Bruckheimer will only accentuated them.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that while the upcoming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film will take the franchise in a new direction, “some” of the original cast are expected to return.
Well, not all new actors. We'll have some back... I’m not going to tell you which ones — you'll have to guess.
Will that include Depp? For now, Disney remains silent, and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ still hasn’t been officially announced or given a release date.
Back in December, Variety reported that “nothing had been ruled out” when it came to Disney bringing Depp back for another ‘Pirates.’ The studio hadn’t reached out to the actor at the time, but one of the scripts in development reportedly left the door open for a potential return — if bridges could be unburned.
Then, just a few months ago, The DisInsider, reported that Depp may, in fact, be returning as Captain Jack Sparrow for the next instalment. According to the site, Disney was quietly prepping a new Pirates movie with Depp involved.
This is surprising, to say the least. Disney seemed to cut ties completely with the actor after the Amber Heard debacle, and Depp himself had made it very clear he wasn’t interested in going back, especially after they dropped him so quickly following Heard’s Washington Post op-ed.
At the time, Depp said he’d never work with Disney again — not even for $300M and a million alpacas (his words). And yet here we are.
What’s changed? Well, for one, producer Bruckheimer never gave up on the guy. He’s remained one of Depp’s staunchest defenders and has publicly hinted multiple times that a return could still happen. Earlier this year, he confirmed that two scripts were in the works — one presumably the Margot Robbie-led reboot (which seems to be dead in the water), and the other involving Depp.
Do we need another Pirates movie? Absolutely not. But let’s face it, trying to do one without Jack Sparrow is like making a Batman movie without Batman. Depp was the franchise. The later entries might’ve been a mess, but he was always the draw.
For now, nothing’s confirmed, and this could all be smoke. But don’t be surprised if Disney, always in search for surefire box office hits, decides to go back to the well, and brings Depp with them.