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Credit: DisneyIt’s been more than six years since Johnny Depp was a part of The Walt Disney Company, and fans have been feeling every one of those years. For nearly 15 years, Depp was one of the biggest moneymakers for the company, starring in one of its most successful live-action franchises to date — Pirates of the Caribbean.
In the franchise, Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow, one of Disney’s most iconic original characters. It’s been almost ten years since the last Pirates of the Caribbean film came out, but fans still love seeing Captain Jack roaming around Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Related: Two Years Later, Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard Hasn’t Stopped
Disney’s relationship with Johnny Depp came crashing down in 2018, when Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard published an OpEd in The Washington Post, in which she accused the Edward Scissorhands (1990) star of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. And while there was no proof provided to back up Heard’s claims, the backlash against Johnny Depp was swift.
Not long after the OpEd was published, Disney dropped Mr. Depp, and his future as Captain Jack Sparrow came to an end. Disney wasn’t the only company to drop him, either. Warner Bros. also parted ways with Depp and replaced him as Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
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After a six-week trial in a Virginia courtroom, a jury determined that Depp and Heard had defamed each other, but with her OpEd, Heard was more at fault. Ms. Heard was deemed more at fault and was ordered to pay Mr. Depp more than $10 million.
While it appeared that many of the claims made against Mr. Depp appeared to be untrue, his career has never rebounded. He has appeared in a couple of films since then, but his career is not nearly as big as it once was.
For years, fans have been begging Disney to bring Depp back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. During the trial, the actor revealed that he had been working on the project when Heard’s OpEd came out and lost more than $20 million when Disney kicked him to the curb.
Disney, for its part, was trying to figure out how to move forward with the hit franchise without its main star. Multiple versions of the script were written, and Margot Robbie was set to star in the reboot. However, none of the scripts really took off, and fans promised that they would not watch a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie if Depp wasn’t in it.
While Margot Robbie said that her Pirates movie was “dead at Disney,” producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that he wanted to make the movie, but only when it was the right time.
During the trial, Mr. Depp was asked if he would be willing to return to Disney in the future, and he said that he would not come back, even if they offered him “$300 million and one million alpacas.” Disney also didn’t seem interested in the idea and kept relatively quiet about the whole thing. Jerry Bruckheimer and Pirates writer Terri Russio have said they would love to work with Depp again.
However, it appears that Disney is realizing that Pirates of the Caribbean without Johnny Depp just isn’t something that can happen right now.
In recent years, Disney has really struggled at the box office. Many of its big pictures have failed to perform, costing the company tens of millions of dollars, including Lightyear (2022), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), and Elemental (2023), just to name a few.
Related: Disney’s Biggest Flop is Making a Comeback
Yet, this year, the Mouse House released two of the biggest films of the year — Inside Out 2 in June and Moana 2 the day before Thanksgiving. Inside Out 2 grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, and Moana 2 is quickly catching up. It has only been in theaters for one week, but has already smashed several box office records.
With things finally trending in a positive direction, Disney may have realized that it can’t afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new Pirates movie if its success is not guaranteed. Even if the story was not the best one in the franchise, Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow would be sure to bring millions of people to the theater.
Disney wanting Depp back is only one piece of the puzzle; Mr. Depp would also have to agree to return to a company that he feels stabbed him in the back. Of course, rumors have swirled, and insiders have claimed that Depp would be willing to return — for the right price. However, Depp has not publicly stated that.
Disney, on the other hand, now seems to be changing its tune and appears willing to reach out to Depp to discuss returning for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. At this time, Disney has not reached out to Mr. Depp, but a source close to the situation said that “Nothing has been ruled out.”
Disney’s box office success is expected to continue in the upcoming months. Mufasa: The Lion King is being released in theaters on December 19, and The Lion King prequel is expected to perform incredibly well, much like its 2019 live-action remake. Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch is also expected to do well at the box office when it is released in May 2025.
Of course, Disney’s live-action remake Snow White is also coming out next year, but its box-office success is not guaranteed. The movie has been a hotbed of controversy since it was announced. And things have not gotten better with the casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White, the comments she has made, and Disney’s decision to CGI the seven dwarfs.
Do you think Disney should fight to get Johnny Depp back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6? Should they bother to make another Pirates movie if Mr. Depp is not in it? Share your thoughts in the comments!