Running Down Rumors: The Truth About Johnny Depp's Return to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
Johnny Depp’s spokesperson just broke a lot of hearts.
On June 7, Poptopic reported that the Walt Disney Co. was preparing a hefty deal of more than $300 million to plead for Depp’s return to the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise.
The little-known Australian pop culture website cited a “trusted source close to Disney.”
Unfortunately for fans of Captain Jack Sparrow, the actor’s spokesperson has declared the report “false,” People magazine reported Tuesday.
Poptopic’s report said Disney was drafting a $301 million offer, including “a sizable donation to a charity of Depp’s choice.”
It said the actor would reprise the role of Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean 6” along with a spinoff series on the Disney+ streaming service.
While the debunking of the Poptopic report is disappointing for fans, it is not surprising.
An insider told People that it is “not very likely” Depp will “come back as a star, but they’d probably make ‘Pirates 6’ with Margot Robbie or someone similar.”
Additionally, in his recent defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp made it clear that he was not interested in working with Disney again.
He testified that he would not take another “Pirates” franchise role for “$300 million and a million alpacas.”
Breaking news
Johnny Depp says that not even for 300 million will he work with Disney again pic.twitter.com/Bu45s3Lt3C— I_see_the_black_sun (@Iseetheblacksun) May 6, 2022
He said he felt that Disney had spurned him.
“There was a very deep and distinct feeling of having been betrayed by the people that I had been working with, the people I had worked hard for, people I had delivered a character to that they initially despised,” Depp said, according to MovieWeb.
Therefore, the $301 million offer, exactly $1 million over the deal Depp testified he would reject — and more than he made in the five prior “Pirates of the Caribbean” films combined — was not very plausible.
The Poptopic report came days after People published an interview with a former Disney executive who predicted Depp would return to the “Pirates” franchise.
“There is just too much potential box-office treasure for a beloved character deeply embedded in the Disney culture,” the executive said. “Pirates is a billion-dollar global franchise.”
The “Pirates” speculation followed a jury’s decision on June 1 to award Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard for her comments about him in a 2018 Washington Post Op-Ed.
Within minutes of the verdict, Depp released a statement saying the jury “gave me my life back.”
#JohnnyDepp says “jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled” in a statement to Instagram following today’s verdict. https://t.co/yVm6LXOqI1
(?: Johnny Depp via Instagram) pic.twitter.com/jqZfDAKlk3— KTLA Entertainment (@ktlaENT) June 1, 2022
While fans hope the court victory means he will soon return to acting, it does not appear that Depp’s next role will be Captain Jack Sparrow.
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