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Throughout the infamous Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, fans around the globe have rallied together to voice their opinions. These fans, more specifically of Depp, have designed petitions and formed a social media outcry in support of the actor. Disney and Warner Brothers have seemingly shunned the actor from a variety of franchise opportunities such as the Fantastic Beasts series. As a result, fans understandably feared that his future with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise might be in jeopardy.
Would Depp Want to Return to Pirates?
During the sensational trial of the decade, Johnny Depp responded during testimony about a hypothetical scenario on if he would be asked to return to Disney.
Benjamin Rottenborn: "The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and one million alpacas, nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney again on a Pirates of the Caribbean film."
Johnny Depp: "That is true Mr. Rottenborn."
Depp also indicated that despite the potential removal of his character from the franchise, Disney is continuing to have the famous Captain Jack Sparrow image and audio animatronic figure in rides in Disney theme parks worldwide. This furthers the notion that Captain Jack Sparrow is integral to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and a sixth installment to the series would be detrimental without the iconic character. A plethora of rationale supports this claim as to why Captain Jack and Johnny Depp as a performer is crucial to the success of Pirates of the Caribbean. To start, there must be an examination into the fifth Pirates installment and why it was not as well-received as the previous four films.
Jack lLst his Luck in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Jack Sparrow was at his lowest point during Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Constantly drunk and stumbling from scene to scene, Jack Sparrow was down on his luck and seemed to not have the spark from the previous four films. This character was the generally focal point of all previous Pirates films (or at least their most meaningful aspect), and he was driving the story forward. On the other hand, in the fifth installment, the story was driving Sparrow forward; he was essentially tagging along with supporting characters Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and Carina Smith (Kaya Scodelario). The supporting characters took the lead and were making all the decisions around Jack Sparrow, which is not a familiar trait for the captain.
In addition to the story and writing plaguing his character, Johnny Depp also was in the midst of personal challenges that made filming a bit more difficult. It is noted that Depp was in the midst of financial and personal hardship, while also suffering from a serious injury to his finger. This injury inevitably shut production down for two weeks while the actor sought treatment.
The Curse of the Black Pearl
Jack Sparrow seems to lose his iconic Black Pearl vessel as quickly as he gets it back. In all five films, we have never seen Jack truly helm the ship as his own for an extended period of time. At the conclusion of the fifth film, we finally see Captain Jack Sparrow have full control over The Black Pearl for only a moment before the film ends. A sixth film with Jack pirating through the seas with the ship he had worked so hard to finally get back would be a satisfying conclusion to his arc.
Jack’s misadventures with the Pearl define most of the franchise. In the first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack is searching for the ship, but loses it multiple times to Captain Barbosa. In the second film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, he briefly captains the vessel, but it is lost to Davy Jones’ Locker. In the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, there is a battle to maintain leadership between Sparrow and Barbosa over the Pearl. The ship is later noted to be taken and bound in a bottle which Sparrow never even retrieved back in the fourth film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. So seeing Jack finally reunited with the one thing that has been driving him forward through these adventures would be a treat for fans of the franchise.
Jack Sparrow mentions in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl what the ship really means to him:
That’s what a ship is you know, it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is… what The Black Pearl really is… is freedom.
Jack Sparrow is the most entertaining pirate to watch. But it is his love of the Pearl, the sea, and pirating itself that makes him the heart of the franchise.
Jack Sparrow, the Drunken Soul
While Jack Sparrow is and always will be a scoundrel, he is a fun and enthusiastic character, even if only from a cinematic perspective. He is unpredictable and always seems to be plotting something new. Whether it is a means of escape or coming up with witty lines of dialogue, this character means something to a great deal of fans around the world. Without Depp in this franchise, it would be as hollow as an empty treasure chest.
Johnny Depp is the key element to the success of this character. From improvisations to the very physicality of the character, Depp put a lot of himself into the role. He also is so dedicated to the part that he takes it with him when the cameras are not rolling. Depp has portrayed Jack Sparrow on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland, replacing his animatronic and surprising fans. He has also gone to children's hospitals and greeted kids in character, giving them the opportunity to meet the greatest pirate of all time, and even took Jack Sparrow to an animal rescue center. His dedication to the role is unimpeachable and fans seem to appreciate that by signing petitions demanding this character's return to the franchise, even if Depp didn't want to at the time of his alpacas comment.
Johnny Depp is Hotly Committed to Jack Sparrow
Back in 2018, Depp was interviewed by Collider about the initial creation of the character of Jack Sparrow during the production of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
In the original screenplay, Captain Jack was written as a swashbuckler, a pirate who swings in, sort of fights a little bit and then swings out, grabs a girl and that's it. I had different ideas for him. This sounds weird, but Captain Jack was born in a sauna. My sauna. I was looking at various aspects of the character and I figured this guy has been on the high seas for the majority of his life and therefore has dealt with inescapable heat to the brain. So I cranked the sauna up to about 1000 degrees and sat in there as long as I could until it started to affect me mentally. It was very, very hot, as was my brain. While you’re in there in that kind of heat, you can’t stand still, but the worst of it is if you move, it kills you. So that gave me the idea that his brain has been par-boiled to some degree. Also in terms of his body language I felt that when he was on the ship he would be fine as the ship would be bounding away. He would have sea legs, but when he gets on land he cannot get land legs. He would be looking wobbly and Disney disagreed.
After the disagreements with Disney, the look and feel of Jack Sparrow was solidified into film history. Johnny Depp’s dedication and charisma for the role would be the driving force through the entire franchise. We all go to these films to see what Captain Jack Sparrow gets himself into, but we stay because we want to see how he gets himself free.
Jack Sparrow is a character who deserves to be free and actually be a Captain for once, and since his arch rival Captain Barbosa perished in the fifth film, there is no one stopping him to actually sail the Black Pearl again for good. Audiences and Depp need this closure for the character, and we could only hope Disney executives sail forth and bring back Jack.