Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which adapted the premise of the popular Disney Parks attraction and launched a film series that’s collectively grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. However, it’s been seven years since the last movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in theaters, though there certainly hasn’t been a lack of effort in trying to get Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and various spinoffs off the ground. For a while, Johnny Depp was not expected to reprise Jack Sparrow in the sixth main installment, but apparently plans are in motion to potentially bring him back for the upcoming Disney movie.
Back in 2022, executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer said there were no plans at that point for Depp to return to the Pirates film series, with this statement coming in the midst of Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The actor also once said he had no interest in reprising Jack Sparrow, not even for $300 million and a million alpacas. But in the years since, there’s been talk about Depp potentially reprising this role after all, and now Variety reports that Bruckheimer is developing two versions of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 script “parallel tracks.” One of those scripts includes Jack Sparrow, although it could only be made if, as the publication described it, “the actor and Disney can reconcile.” A source added that “nothing has been ruled out.”
So nothing is set in stone just yet, but if this information is accurate, then the Mouse House is at least entertaining the idea of bringing Johnny Depp back aboard. Jerry Bruckheimer would certainly make it happen in an instant if he had his way, saying earlier this year that he’d “love having him back in the movie” and that he’d spoken to Depp on the subject. The two men are still quite chummy, with this news coming a month after Bruckheimer and Depp reunited at the latter’s art exhibition.
As of July 2023, Depp was allegedly open to the possibility of returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with an unnamed insider saying that “if it’s the right project, he’ll do it.” If he were to do Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and assuming it was able to get into production relatively quickly, then it would make Depp’s big return to Hollywood. His filmography of late has consisted of smaller projects and foreign movies, like Minamata and Jeanne du Barry.
However, if Disney and Johnny Depp can’t mend fences, and Jack Sparrow sauntering back onto the big screen has been ruled out, then there’s always that second Pirates of the Caribbean 6 script that could move forward instead. Presumably this is the script that’s been written by Craig Main, who said last year that he thought Disney wouldn’t accept it because it was “too weird.” Instead, the studio found it to be “fantastic,” and Mazin had hoped to work on the script further with Ted Elliot, who co-wrote the first four Pirates movies with Terry Rossio. It’s also rumored that Austin Butler has been approached to lead a new Pirates movie.
If Johnny Depp does agree to do Pirates of the Caribbean 6, count on CinemaBlend to let you know. Until then, keep yourself entertained by streaming the first five Pirates movies with your Disney+ subscription… drinking rum while doing so is optional.