Johnny Depp is not expected to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer says there’s a female-led reboot in the works that’s expected to see actress Margot Robbie helm the lead role. While it’s no secret that Johnny would not be reprising his iconic character Captain Jack Sparrow based on what he has revealed in his ongoing trial against ex-wife Amber Heard this past month, in an interview with The Sunday Times’ Culture magazine, Jerry revealed that Disney is taking the franchise down a different route moving forward.
When the publication quizzed him on whether there was a chance fans could expect Johnny to return in the future, Jerry asserted, “Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided.” He was further asked whether there was any truth to the rumor that an all-female cast is being considered for a potential reboot, to which he responded, saying, “Yes. We are talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts – one with her, and one without.”
Jerry is perhaps one of the most successful film producers in Hollywood, with his movies having turned actors such as Tom Cruise (Top Gun), and Will Smith (Bad Boys) into blockbuster superstars. Johnny had played Jack Sparrow for a whopping five installments of the films and has since alleged in court that his relationship with Disney turned sour following Amber’s allegations of domestic abuse in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed.
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While his former flame never mentions her ex in the written piece itself, the father-of-two’s legal team has argued that there was enough evidence to believe Amber was referring to the actor whose reputation has been tarnished by the accusations. Right around the time that the op-ed was released, Johnny was said to have had discussions about participating in a final installment that same year to give his character the right send-off, but the idea was scrapped amid the abuse controversy.
“My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye. There’s a way to end a franchise like that… I planned on continuing until it was time to stop,” Johnny testified in his $100 million court case last month. But given how his working relationship was affected by the claims against him, which he vehemently denies being true, the A-lister says Disney could offer him all the money “on this earth,” but he still wouldn’t go back.
Amber’s lawyer Ben Rottenborn then asked Johnny, “The fact is, Mr. Depp, 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? Correct?”
“That is true, Mr. Rottenborn,” the Fantastic Beasts star replied.