Johnny Depp told the courtroom on Monday that he wanted to keep making Pirates of the Caribbean movies so he could give a fitting farewell to Captain Jack Sparrow and the rest of the franchise's crew.
The actor took the stand for the fourth day in a row in his $50 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, who he is suing after she claimed to be a domestic abuse survivor in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post.
Depp's legal team alleges that the 58-year-old star was dropped from several big-budget film franchises as a result of Heard's accusations. These include the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, in which Depp played the beloved lead role of Captain Jack Sparrow.
When Depp was cross-examined last week, Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn quizzed the actor on exactly why Disney had dropped him from the franchise. He drew on comments Depp had previously made about being upset with the series, suggesting he had chosen to step away from the role, according to a report by Variety.
However, on Monday, Depp's attorney Jessica Meyers established that he had always been very much invested in making the sixth installment in the Pirates series.
The actor testified that: "My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye."
He went on to say that: "There’s a way to end a franchise like that… I planned on continuing until it was time to stop."
After the fifth film in the franchise - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - was released in 2017, Depp claims that he was approached to assist in writing a screenplay for the sixth movie. The project is now in "dangle mode" according to the actor.
As for the exact circumstances surrounding Disney dropping him, Depp recalled learning that the studio had decided to recast him several days after Heard's op-ed was published.
"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," the actor told the court.
However, while Depp is insistent that he was once invested in carrying on the franchise, it doesn't look like he will be returning to the seas as Jack Sparrow anytime soon. Per Variety, the actor has since said that he would refuse to do another film even if Disney paid him "$300 million and a million alpacas."
