Johnny Depp Finally Breaks Silence on 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Return

The man behind one of Hollywood’s most iconic characters weighs in on his potential return.

A man dressed as a pirate, with long braided hair, a tricorn hat, and a tattered coat, stands in the foreground looking to the side. In the blurred background of this 2025 Theme Park setting, a man in a red military uniform holds a musket and stands outside a wooden building reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean. — Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Is it time to set sail again? Rumors continue to swirl regarding Disney’s next Pirates film, which is officially in the works, though it’s still unclear if Johnny Depp will portray the iconic Jack Sparrow.

Disney’s legendary Pirates franchise began in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a film that went on to gross hundreds of millions of dollars, prompting Disney to establish an entire franchise based on one of the company’s most iconic theme park rides.

Multiple Pirates sequels were produced, with the most recent entry in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, hitting theaters in 2017. The franchise has remained shipwrecked since, though there have been near-nonstop rumblings about Disney raising the sails once again.

While the franchise has been treading water for quite some time, longtime Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that a reboot was in development.

“It’s hard to tell. You don’t know, you really don’t know,” Bruckheimer said. “You don’t know how they come together. You just don’t know. Because with Top Gun you have an actor who is iconic and brilliant. And how many movies he does before he does Top Gun, I can’t tell you. But we’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”

Now, Johnny Depp is breaking his silence on returning as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Three individuals dressed as pirates, reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean, are engaged in a conversation on the deck of a ship. The central figure, wearing a red bandana and beads, faces an older man in a black hat. A woman in a wide-brimmed hat stands to the left, while a rugged sailor is visible in the background. — Credit: Disney

Depp recently chatted with ET at the premiere of Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness and shared his thoughts on his Hollywood return as well as what it was like working alongside Al Pacino.

Depp was also asked his thoughts on returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The brief interaction went as follows:

“We’re really hoping for another Pirates film, just so you know.”

“Wow, thank you. Yeah, that would be fun.”

Depp didn’t get into the nitty-gritty details about any deals or plot points of the next Pirates film, but it’s still quite a big deal to hear the star just mention the franchise at all.

Disney was rumored to have cut ties with Depp following the trial between him and his former partner, Amber Heard, leading many to assume he would not be returning for more Pirates films.

However, last year it was revealed that longtime Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer was working on not one, but two scripts: one for a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel and another for a spinoff starring Margot Robbie.

Are you hoping to see Johnny Depp return as Captain Jack Sparrow?