Johnny Depp has shut down rumors about a possible return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise after speculation on social media.
The rumors surfaced after a report by PopTopic was posted online and claimed that the 59-year-old actor was working on an alleged $301 million deal to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
"Disney is very interested in patching up their relationship with Johnny Depp," the source said. "They are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character."
However, the rumor has since been denied after Depp's representatives told NBC News, per E! News: "This is made up."
Depp starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in all Pirates of the Caribbean movies, with his last appearance being in the 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales.
In May, the producer of the action franchise, Jerry Bruckheimer, was asked by The Sunday Times if the Edwards Scissorhands actor was in talks to reprise his role as the beloved pirate amid Depp's defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Bruckheimer responded: "Not at this time," but then he followed up and added: "The future is yet to be decided."
Two different scripts are reportedly in the works for a future Pirates movie - with Margot Robbie rumored to be playing the lead role in one of them. However, many of Depp's supporters have been campaigning for his return ever since he lost his role following accusations made against him.
Fans have also created a petition called: "We want JOHNNY DEPP back as CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW" which currently has over 875,000 signatures.
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."
Depp's role as Jack Sparrow was a notable subject in his recent highly publicized defamation trial against his former wife, which concluded earlier this month (June 2022) after the jury unanimously sided with the Fantastic Beasts star.
During the six-week jury trial, the idea of a return to the Pirates of the Caribbean was mentioned by Depp's attorney Ben Rottenborn during the actor's testimony.
Rottenborn asked: "If Disney came to you with 300 million dollars 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 Depp replied: "That is true."
While rumors have been shut down, it looks like Depp is focusing on his music career as he is set to join his Hollywood Vampires bandmates, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Tommy Henriksen for an overseas tour next year.