Actor Johnny Depp has stated in court that there is nothing that Disney could offer him that would convince him to return to the iconic role of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The admission from Depp came during cross-examination in the defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard (via Variety), who Depp is currently in the process of suing for $50 million.
"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?" Amber Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn asked Depp during the proceedings.
"That is true, Mr. Rottenborn," Depp replied.
Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation following her 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she detailed the alleged abuse she suffered. While she never mentions Depp by name, the actor believes that the article has greatly damaged his career, costing him the role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
“I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not,” Depp said, adding that he believes his career was “done” from “the second the allegations were made against me.”
“Once that happened, I lost then,” the actor continued. “No matter the outcome of this trial, I’ll carry that for the rest of my days… I’m suing her over defamation and the various falsities that she used to bring my life to an end.”
Depp explained in his testimony that, despite Disney keeping the image of Jack Sparrow in all avenues of the franchise, he himself was cut off. “They didn’t remove my character from the rides,” he said. “They didn’t stop selling dolls of Captain Jack Sparrow. They didn’t stop selling anything. They just didn’t want there to be something trailing behind me that they’d find.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been locked in legal battles for some time, and the situation is not expected to be resolved any time soon. The case continues.
What is Disney Planning to Do with the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise?
The last audiences saw of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was back in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which of course does feature Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. At the time, the plan was to quickly shoot a sixth installment, with the intention to wrap up the series and the journey of Jack Sparrow which began all those years ago in 2003.
At present, it is largely unknown what Disney plans to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. Prior reports have claimed that two separate movies are currently in development. The first is reportedly being written by Christina Hodson and has tapped The Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie to lead the outing, which will act as a spinoff-slash-reboot, with the second being written by the duo of Ted Elliot and Craig Mazin, which is expected to be a more direct sequel.