Pirates Of The Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said he’d like to see Johnny Depp make a return to the franchise.
Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow in the blockbuster film series between 2003-2017. A reboot of Pirates is now on the way, with writer Jeff Nathanson attached. Bruckheimer announced the news in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
However, Depp’s future as Jack Sparrow has been uncertain as he still remains absent from Hollywood following his 2022 libel trial against Amber Heard.
Speaking about the reboot, Bruckheimer said: “[Nathanson’s] cracked it… He’s got an amazing third act. We just gotta clean up the first and second and then we’ll get there. But he wrote a great, great third act.”
He went on to say that he’d like to see Depp return in the role. “It’s a reboot, but if it was up to me, he would be in it,” Bruckheimer explained.
“I love him. He’s a good friend. He’s an amazing artist and he’s a unique look. He created Captain Jack. That was not on the page, that was him doing a little Pepé Le Pew and Keith Richards. That was his interpretation of Jack Sparrow.”
Variety first reported in 2020 that Disney was in early development on two movies: a reboot from Margot Robbie, and a sixth film in the original franchise written by Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott.
Mazin opened up about the sixth movie to the Los Angeles Times in 2023. “We pitched it and thought there’s no way they’re buying it, it’s too weird,” he said. “And they did! And then we wrote a fantastic script and the strike happened and everyone’s waiting around.”
Robbie told Vanity Fair in November 2022 that Disney wasn’t interested in her “more of a female-led” movie, but Bruckheimer explained to Entertainment Weekly that both of the films could exist.
“It’s two different movies,” he explained. “We hope to get ’em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too.”
Depp recently hit out at the Hollywood movie industry, saying it “threw me in the bin” to explain why he hasn’t worked within it for years.
Back in 2022, Depp won a defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post. Two years prior, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun after it published an article that referred to him as a “wife beater” – claims Depp has always denied.
The situation led to Depp being dropped from the Fantastic Beasts franchise and as such has not landed any Hollywood roles of late. The majority of his recent roles have been in European cinema, including his latest role as King Louis XV in Jeanne Du Barry, where he performs in French.
“They’re disposable and they realise it,” Depp said. “Glorified accountants who have the ability to press the green light and make studio films… but they press the green light, they spent shitloads of money,” he told Metro. “Budgets are ridiculous on these films… some romantic comedy with two very popular people. People – the real people – they’re sick of it.”
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