'Pirates of the Caribbean' producer says he's spoken to Johnny Depp about a potential return

'Pirates of the Caribbean' producer Jerry Bruckheimer has spoken out on the potential return of Captain Jack Sparrow to the franchise.

The PotC movies have become one of the most beloved movie franchises of the last three decades, and a huge part of that is because of star Johnny Depp as the rum-loving captain.

Depp, now 60, appeared in all five of the movies - from 2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl to 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales.

However, during Depp's defamation trial between himself and ex-wife Amber Heard over a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post the actress had written, the Captain Jack star revealed that Disney had chosen to distance themselves away from him.

Johnny Depp has previously stated that he wouldn't return to the role. Credit: Tim P. Whitby / Getty

This came when Heard had claimed to have been a victim of domestic abuse (although, she never mentioned Depp by name).

During the trial, Depp was asked: "If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film?"

To which, he simply replied: "That is true."

Depp as the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow. Credit: Jesse Grant / Getty

He also reflected on his time as Sparrow as well as his relationship with the production company, explaining: "Captain Jack Sparrow was a character that I had built from the ground up and was something that I put a lot of - you put a lot of yourself into characters.

"And also having worked on those films with those people, and having put a lot of my own rewriting, dialogue, scenes, and jokes and whatever they are," he told the jury at the time. "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."

Now, Bruckheimer - who has long spoken out about a sixth movie being in the works - has revealed that he has reached out to Depp.

Depp with Bruckheimer. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Bruckheimer once again emphasized that he “loves” Depp in the PotC movies, and when asked about the possibility of him even having a cameo in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, Bruckheimer certainly left the door open.

“If it was up to me, of course. I love having Depp," Bruckheimer said. "He’s a great actor and good friend [...] I’ve certainly spoken to him, but we’ll see what happens.”

Currently, it has been reported that the new Pirates movie will be more female-led than the previous movies, with both Margot Robbie and Ayo Edebiri rumored to be up for the lead role.

Disney has never stated that Depp was ruled out of future PotC movies as a result of Heard's allegations.

Rather, president of the production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Sean Bailey told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2018: "We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul [Wernick] and Rhett [Reese] are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with."

Passionate fans have also created a petition calling for Depp's return. A Change.org page called "We want JOHNNY DEPP back as CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW" currently boasts over 890,000 signatures.

It's clearly a role Depp cares deeply about, and it would mean so much to fans to see him return. So let's just watch this space and never say never.

Featured image credit: Jesse Grant / Getty