"I Wanted Johnny Depp," 'Pirates' Star Officially Back in Movies After Endorsement

The Pirates of the Caribbean star is officially back in films after director declares, “I want Johnny Depp.”

Johnny Depp has a long, tenured history with The Walt Disney Company. After a string of successful hits in the 80s and 90s and longstanding collaboration with famed director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Corpse Bride), the Hollywood star debuted as Captain Jack Sparrow in the company’s 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The smash-hit success of the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced swashbuckling epic spawned a mega-franchise with global takings of over $4.5 billion. After The Curse of the Black Pearl, which also starred Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom as Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, respectively, Depp’s Jack Sparrow appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2010), and, most recently, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

While Disney did not understand the direction of Depp’s eccentric character in Gore Verbinski’s feature film, the audiences were drawn like moths to a flame. As famous characters in pop culture go, Captain Jack Sparrow is surely up there with the most popular and went on to score an Academy Award nomination for Leading Actor in 2004.

The tide would all change for Depp in recent years, though. After starring in the Warner Bros. Harry Potter spinoff, the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Depp’s time in the blockbuster limelight would be ended.

His marriage to fellow actress Amber Heard in 2015 would begin a set of affairs the pair are still dealing with to this day. Heard filed for divorce in 2016, citing physical and verbal abuse, and later penned the infamous, and now disclaimed, opinion essay in The Washington Post.

Related: Johnny Depp Openly Feuds With Disney About ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Franchise

That 2018 Op-Ed was the precursor to Depp’s $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife — a lawsuit that Heard countersued for $100 million. Before the defamation case got underway, however, Depp entered a libel lawsuit in the United Kingdom after The Sun newspaper and its parent company, News Group Newspapers LTD, published a headline stating that Depp was a “wife-beater.”

The highly-publicized trial in 2020 ended with Justice Andrew Nicol siding with the British publication, claiming that many of the reports on domestic abuse were “substantially true.” Depp lost his appeal request and was forced to resign from the Warner Bros. Wizarding World franchise, and was later out at Disney, too.

His time of high-profile feature films was seemingly at its end, despite the legions of fans and #JusticeForJohnnyDepp supporters that have remained by his side throughout the domestic abuse allegations and court cases. But, last year, in a six-week trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, presided over by Judge Penney Azcarate, the jury found Heard had defamed Depp on multiple counts with her Washington Post essay. They also found Depp, through his former lawyer Adam Waldman, had defamed Heard on one count.

Both were awarded compensatory damages (Depp $10 million, Heard $2 million), with the Pirates star also getting $5 million in punitive damages — lowered to $350,000 per state law.

Since the legal proceedings began, Depp has only starred in Minimata (2020) — a movie that was featured in the Oscars’ controversial audience choice award last year — and Jeanne du Barry (2023) from director Maïwenn.

Depp plays King Louis XV in Maïwenn’s motion picture, where she also stars as its titular character. The movie was chosen to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival, with the director of the international affair remaining steadfast in his decision to feature Depp in the opening event. Reactions have been lukewarm to Depp’s return to the big screen, but according to the director herself, it was always going to be the Pirates of the Caribbean actor for the role.

In an interview with El Pais, Maïwenn reveals details about shooting Jeanne du Barry with Johnny Depp.

“There are tensions on every shoot, and if someone says there are no tensions, they’re lying,” Maïwenn tells the publication after reports of her and Depp clashing on set. “I insist that there are tensions on all shoots. Between actors and other actors, between actors and directors, between directors and technicians. We spend a lot of hours together for a long time.”

When being asked about whether the domestic abuse controversy between Depp and Heard impacted filming, Maïwenn said:

“No, because what mattered is what I desired for the film. And if the desire fades, I disconnect creatively. That’s why you have to keep that flame alive. You can’t worry about the rest, about controversy or outside comments. I wanted Johnny Depp [for the part]; he fills the character with his presence.”

Jeanne du Barry debuted at Cannes on May 16 before being released in France on the same day. Vertical Entertainment is handling distribution for the United States.

During the court proceedings for the defamation trial, Benjamin Rottenborn of Heard’s legal team asked Depp if he would return to the Disney-distributed Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for $300 million and a million alpacas, to which the actor said no he would not.

Related: Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow Infiltrates Disney’s World of Animation With Surprising Reveal

That seems to have changed in recent months, though. With the actor essentially exiled from Hollywood and living a life in Somerset, England, while also on tour with his band, the Hollywood Vampires, a source close to the star has said that he would be open to returning to the Pirates franchise if the project was right.

As for that project, well, Jerry Bruckheimer has been clear that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is being written, also saying that he, too, would love for Depp to be involved. The previous Margot Robbie-led movie, a spinoff of sorts, is currently shelved. Robbie said the project was canceled, but Bruckheimer clarified that it was on pause while work presumed on the sixth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Will you be seeing Johnny Depp in Jeanne du Barry eventually? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!