Disney Axes Johnny Depp, Next 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Plans May Surprise You

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is moving forward, even without Johnny Depp.

Johnny Depp has become synonymous with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for his portrayal of the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow in the first six films of POTC, and as the lead protagonist, he helped lead the franchise to an impressive $4.5 billion box office total worldwide. The five films were created as a story spinning off the famous Disney Park attraction Pirates of the Caribbean, which can still be enjoyed at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort.

Over the course of the last few months, many fans have wondered what the future might hold for the franchise.

Johnny Depp admitted that he felt disrespected by Disney during his time in the company, particularly when the company reportedly turned its back on him after allegations from his ex-wife Amber Heard came forward. After two trials, Johnny Depp was named the victor in the defamation trial. With the court proceedings out of the way, many fans have held out hope that Depp and Disney could work out their differences and come together for another film.

As a matter of fact, Pirates of the Caribbean Producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared in his latest comments that he felt the two parties should reunite. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case unless something major changes.

Though Disney left the door open for Johnny Depp, saying that it was “noncommittal” on the actor returning to the franchise, a report came forward after these comments sharing that Depp had declined Disney’s offer to reappear as Captain Jack Sparrow, and that he would be coming back to the franchise. Despite that, these comments indicate that Disney is moving forward, with or without him.

“We think we have a really good, exciting story that honors the films that have come before but also has something new to say, Disney Studio Motion Picture Production President Sean Bailey said in a recent interview with The New York Times.

Though thousands of Disney fans have shared that they “will not watch” POTC without Johnny Depp, it seems the company is deadset on making another installment either way. In the past, Bruckheimer shared that there were two scripts moving forward– one with a female-led cast starring Margot Robbie and one with a younger cast. After Margot Robbie confirmed that Disney wasn’t moving forward with her version– at least for now– that left the next installment with a younger cast.

There have been rumors that Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann Turner) and Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) could return to reprise their roles and lead this younger cast, but it doesn’t seem that either of the stars is very excited about this idea on the surface. Dwayne Johnson was rumored to be a potential replacement for Captain Jack Sparrow in the past, but later reports indicated that Disney was not considering him anymore.

Rumors circulated that Maya Hawke and Dylan O’Brien were potential candidates for a reboot of the franchise, but this would not give Disney the star power it likely needs to make this a successful film.

No matter where we land in terms of rumors, the only major development that we know for sure is that Disney is moving forward with Pirates of the Caribbean, even without Johnny Depp, and that in itself is surprising enough. If any of these rumors came to be true, that would only be even more shocking.

What do you think Disney should do with Pirates of the Caribbean? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!