Johnny Depp Felt ‘Betrayed’ by Disney Firing, Wanted to Give Jack Sparrow a ‘Proper Goodbye’

Johnny Depp said Disney’s decision to part ways left him feeling betrayed as he wanted to end Pirates of the Caribbean the right way.

Walt Disney Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Losing the role of Captain Jack Sparrow is something Johnny Depp couldn’t help but take personally. After committing to five feature films in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Depp has since parted ways with Disney, a move the actor attributes to allegations against him made by ex-wife Amber Heard. Now suing Heard for defamation, Depp previously addressed his comments that he could never revisit that role, even if Disney were to come back around and offer hundreds of millions of dollars.

In new testimony, Depp further explained why he feels that the bridge back to Pirates of the Caribbean has been burned. He described the frustration he had felt with Heard’s allegations chasing him for years, with one negative story after another hitting the press. The actor also opened up on how he had learned that he had been officially fired by Disney just days after Heard described herself as a victim of domestic violence in an op-ed written for The Washington Post. As he had previously spoken with Disney about doing Pirates 6, here’s how Depp said it felt when he learned that the company was dropping him from the franchise, per TooFab.

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“Hurt. Blinding hurt. It was like somebody hit me in the back of the head with a 2×4… Captain Jack Sparrow was a character I built from the ground up and was something that I, of course, put a lot of [myself] into the character and also having worked on these films with these people and added much of myself, much of my own re-writing of the dialogue and scenes and jokes. I didn’t quite understand how, after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent.”

Depp also opens up on his plans to continue as Captain Jack Sparrow for as long as it took to give the character his “proper goodbye.” As Depp and Disney had expected for the franchise to continue when making 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, it wasn’t written with a send-off for Captain Jack in mind. This left Depp feeling cheated, as he was ready to keep going and end the story properly with his fellow franchise co-stars.

Amber Heard’s legal team has questioned Johnny Depp about comments he made that he wouldn’t reprise the role of Captain Jack Sparrow ever again, even if Disney offered “$300 million and a million alpacas.” Depp further clarified those comments, explaining that this was said while he was feeling “betrayed” by the company he had devoted much of his life and career to through their collaborations on the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Heard’s lawyers have also been grilling Depp about his struggles with history with drugs and alcohol use, perhaps to argue that it was the actor’s own behavior that cost him his role in the franchise. It will be up to a jury to decide when the libel trial concludes, but for now, the battle goes on.

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