Fans around the world are gearing up for Thursday night sneak peek screenings of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which brings Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow back to the big screen for the first time in six years, since 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Box office analysts are predicting a huge Pirates 5 opening weekend of $285 million, with roughly $100 million most likely coming from its domestic debut. There has also been talk of what the future of this franchise may bold, but during a recent interview, producer Jerry Bruckheimer made it clear that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will never continue without Johnny Depp.

While Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has yet to be confirmed, some have questioned whether or not this new movie is a "soft reboot" of sorts, introducing new characters like Brenton Thwaites' Henry Turner and Kaya Scodelario's Carina Smyth, along with the new villain Captain Salazar, played by Javier Bardem. During an interview with Digital Spy, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that he can't see any incarnation of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise continuing without Johnny Depp. Here's what he had to say about the matter.

"I just don't see it [working on Pirates without Depp]. The secret to any successful franchise is picking talented people, and Johnny is absolutely key to the success of Pirates. He's such a unique character, such an endearing character, and such an irreverent character all in one."

The movie has been making some interesting headlines as of late, with a report that Johnny Depp shot down the notion of a female villain in this sequel, while another report reveals that a group of hackers have reportedly held the film hostage, threatening to leak it online in small increments. There have also been reports of Johnny Depp's erratic behavior on the Australia set, but Jerry Bruckheimer still contends that Johnny Depp hasn't changed one bit, nor has his character Jack Sparrow. Here's what he had to say.

"He hasn't changed at all! That's what's so great about him. He's still the same guy he was in the first one. He's still out to get what's good for him. Johnny himself hasn't changed either. We've worked together on six movies now and he's just an amazing individual."

The producer also brushed aside talk of any spin-offs featuring a younger Captain Jack Sparrow, especially since Dead Men Tell No Tales features a scene with a much younger Jack Sparrow, with Johnny Depp getting de-aged through CGI technology. The producer revealed this franchise is always about the character, not the technology. Here's what he had to say below.

"It's always about the character, it's never about the visual effects. Pirates has become a family now. We've got talented people in every position, people who have worked on them since the beginning. I think that's one of the reasons the franchise keeps on working."

The producer also brushed aside any notion of taking this franchise to the small screen, making an interesting metaphor by comparing movie theaters to a nice restaurant, and Netflix to the kitchen in your own home. Here's what he had to say below, revealing that they have to make movies good enough that make you want to leave your own home.

"You have a kitchen in your house, right? But you still go out to eat. If something drags you out of the house it's usually good food. We have to make really, really good movies to make people stay away from their televisions. And that's exactly what we do."

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales also features returning stars Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, Golshifteh Farahani as the sea-witch Shansa, David Wenham as Scarfield, Stephen Graham as Scrum, and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa. Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning, best known for the foreign language film Kon-Tiki, are directing from a script by Jeff Nathanson. Be sure to check back throughout the weekend to see how Pirates of the Caribbean 5 fares at the box office.