'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.

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."

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.

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

The Pirates of the Caribbean series producer has confirmed that the new movie will be a reboot rather than a continuation of the franchise so far.

A new installment of the beloved Pirates movie has been in the works since 2011. However, the project stalled after Johnny Depp was removed amid his highly publicized defamation case against his former wife Amber Heard.

During the pair's legal battle, which concluded in June 2022 after the jury unanimously sided with Depp, the 60-year-old actor shut down any involvement with the franchise despite speculations that Disney was trying to get him to reprise the role.

He 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."

Last year, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production president Sean Bailey revealed that after a period of uncertainty, the franchise's movie series will be continuing.

He stated that the new movies are a priority for the company, telling The New York Times: "We think we have a really good, exciting story that honors the films that have come before but also has something new to say."

Now, it has been confirmed by producer Jerry Bruckheimer himself that Pirates of The Caribbean will be getting a "reboot" with the long-in-development sixth movie.

"You don't know, you really don't know," Bruckheimer told ComicBook.com. "Because with Top Gun, you have an actor who is iconic and brilliant. And how many movies he does before he does Top Gun, I can't tell you. But we're gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don't have to wait for certain actors."

The new movie will be the first new entry in the series since 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales.

There have been rumors of a female-led Pirates movie starring Margot Robbie, who would take on the role of Jake Sparrow.

The 33-year-old Barbie star spoke to Vanity Fair, about the speculations and revealed:  "We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led – not totally female-led – but just a different kind of story which we thought would’ve been really cool." She then added: "But I guess they don't want to do it," potentially referring to Disney.

In a separate follow-up interview, producer Bruckheimer insisted the film would still be made, telling The Sun: "It’s alive for me. It’s alive for Disney. I’m sure she was disappointed it didn’t go first, or maybe not because she’s very busy, so it might be a blessing to push this a bit. We believe we’ll get it made. It’s a very strong story."

Another name that was thrown into the mix was Ayo Edebiri, with outlets such as News.com.au claiming that the studio wants her to take on the role of Sparrow in the upcoming installment.

They said that The Bear actress has been pitched to play a character named Anne, who is said to be based on real-life pirate Anne Bonny, however, nothing has been confirmed.

As of yet, no casting announcements have been made, nor do we know who might direct the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Featured image credit: Jesse Grant / Getty

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.

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy.

Johnny Depp has not been ruled out of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, one of its creators says.

Depp has spoken about his tumultuous relationship with the franchise amid his $50 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. He is attempting to sue the Aquaman star after Heard referred to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star has denied any allegations that he was physically violent toward his ex-wife.

Nevertheless, Depp says he learned Disney would not be recasting him as the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow for any future movies in the Pirates franchise.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter back in 2018, president of the production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Sean Bailey was asked if the franchise could survive without Depp. Bailey responded:

"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."

Now, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has spoken to The Times about his upcoming projects - and commented on the future of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Bruckheimer has worked with Depp on all five PotC movies, ever since their inception in 2003.

When asked if Depp is planned to be a part of any future movies in the series, he responded: "Not at this point". However, Bruckheimer did provide a glimmer of hope for fans by adding: "The future is yet to be decided."

The famed Hollywood producer added that officials are currently "in talks" with Margot Robbie.

"We are developing two Pirates scripts - one with [Robbie], one without," he said.

Although, if Disney were to reach out to Depp to once again return to the franchise, he has made it clear in his recent testimonies that he would never return as Captain Jack.

He said that even if Disney offered him "$300 million and a million alpacas," he wouldn't work with the movie studio again.

Further explaining how he felt betrayed by franchise officials, Depp said: "Having added much of myself, much of my own rewriting, the dialogue, the scenes, the jokes, I didn't quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship with Disney that… suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent."

But that hasn't stopped Pirates fans from rallying a potential Depp return, with a two-year-old Change.org petition addressed to The Walt Disney Company once again gaining traction amid the high-profile defamation case.

The petition's description reads: "Johnny Depp deserves his life back the way it was before Amber Heard came along."

Addressing Disney execs, it adds: "Please have a change of heart and do not release that movie without Johnny Depp. Yes, you may be saving money without him, but nobody in this world cares about that movie if it does not have him in it. Reconsider your decision!!"

The petition has since amassed over 670,000 signatures.

During his testimony last month, Depp expressed his concern that Sparrow - along with other characters in the franchise - never received their "proper goodbye".

"My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye," he said, before adding: "I thought that the characters deserved to have their way out of… to end the franchise on a very good note. And I planned on continuing until it was time to stop."

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has amassed $4.5 billion at the global box since 2003, per Reuters.

Featured image credit: United Archives GmbH / Alamy

Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean co-star Kevin McNally has backed his return to the franchise despite Depp's legal trouble.

McNally, 68, said he had "never seen a hint of any dark side to Johnny" during his interview with Express.

Depp, 58, has led all five Pirates of the Caribbean movies as the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow.

But his high-profile split from ex-wife Amber Heard and failure to sue The Sun newspaper - who branded him a 'wife-beater' - has left him boycotted by most of Hollywood.

This includes Pirates of the Caribbean studio Disney, who last year announced they'd be taking the billion-dollar franchise in a new direction, with Margot Robbie stepping into the captain's boots., per Hollywood Reporter.

Nevertheless, McNally - who has played Depp's first-mate Mr Gibbs in all five movies - continues to back his return to the franchise.

"I think there was a general feeling that without Jack there is no Pirates franchise. And there's probably a lot of truth in that," he told Express while promoting his new movie Decrypted.

McNally went on to talk about the different ways Depp could be included in the franchise without taking a starring role.

"You can easily think of stories in which somebody is looking for Jack and come to Mr Gibbs and say, 'How would I find Jack?' And so have a whole bunch of people on a trek to find the legendary Jack Sparrow," he added.

McNally isn't the only one hoping that Depp will sail again in the new Pirates movie. A fan petition campaigning for his return to the high seas has amassed over 650,000 signatures.

As well as being dropped from Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp was also asked to resign from his role in Fantastic Beasts, where he will be replaced by Mads Mikkelsen.

The actor, who also starred as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, spoke out against cancel culture at the San Sebastian film festival earlier this year. He told Deadline: "It's so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no-one is safe."

Originally inspired by Disney's long-running ride, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most lucrative film franchises of all time. In total, the five films have grossed over $4.5 billion. But the most recent installment - 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales - saw a significant drop-off, with the second-lowest box-office performance of the franchise.

Disney is hoping to blow new wind into the series' sails with a female-fronted reboot, which will see Robbie reteam with Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson, Hollywood Reporter reports.

Even if Disney don't reverse their decision to keep Depp out of future Pirates films, fans could still look forwards to seeing the actor reprise his iconic role elsewhere.

He spoke recently about how he'd love to play Jack Sparrow again, saying: "I'll go to somebody's house, man, I'll perform at your kid's birthday party at this point."

Featured Image Credit: MPG / Alamy