Johnny Depp may be sailing back into the Caribbean. Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, has confirmed that Disney is in discussions with the actor to reprise his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a planned sixth instalment.
Speaking to Deadline, Bruckheimer said: “We’re talking with Johnny, we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done.” The remarks mark a significant reversal from his earlier statements in 2022 and 2024, when he insisted the series would be rebooted without Depp.
Depp’s potential return comes after a turbulent period in his career. In 2020, a UK libel case against The Sun resulted in a judge ruling that he had been violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard. Disney subsequently dropped him from the franchise, and Warner Bros. removed him from the Fantastic Beasts series. During the 2022 defamation trial against Heard in Virginia, Depp testified that he would not return to the role even for “$300m and a million alpacas”. The jury ultimately found in his favour, concluding that Heard had defamed him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.
Despite the legal victory, major Hollywood roles have been scarce. Depp starred as Louis XV in the 2023 French film Jeanne du Barry, which was seen as a comeback attempt, but it did not lead to a flood of offers. Now, with a new Pirates film on the horizon, he appears poised for a more substantial return to the big screen.
A franchise worth billions
The Pirates of the Caribbean series began in 2003 with The Curse of the Black Pearl, which grossed over $650 million worldwide. Four sequels followed, with the most recent, Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), earning nearly $800 million despite mixed reviews. In total, the franchise has brought in more than $4.5 billion at the global box office, making it one of Disney’s most lucrative properties.
Bruckheimer’s comments suggest that Disney is willing to overlook past controversies in favour of commercial success. The studio has faced pressure to revive its blockbuster slate, and a sixth Pirates film with Depp would almost certainly generate enormous interest.
Depp is also set to appear in Ebenezer, a Christmas Gothic directed by Ti West, due in November, and in Day Drinker, directed by Marc Webb. Whether audiences will embrace him again remains to be seen, but early reactions to his portrayal of Scrooge have been positive.
As for the alpacas, they are not part of the deal. But if Depp does return, he might want to keep his promise in mind – a million of those animals would be a handful indeed.
