Johnny Depp’s Team Responds to Report of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Return

It was recently rumored that Johnny Depp will be returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Now, the actor’s team has now responded to those claims with a definitive answer. Speaking to NBC News, a rep for Depp stated, “This is made up.” The reports come less than one month after a jury ruled in favor of Depp in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.

There’s been lots of talk about the chances that Johnny Depp could return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, especially after Jerry Bruckheimer revealed his perspective on the matter. While speaking to the Sunday Times, Bruckheimer was asked if Depp would be involved in the next film. “Not at this point,” he said, then adding, “The future is yet to be decided.” It was recently announced that the sixth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise would star Margot Robbie as a new character. However, this is not necessarily a permanent new direction for the franchise, as Bruckheimer clarified, “We’re developing two Pirates scripts. One with her, one without.”

Depp first debuted as Captain Jack Sparrow back in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He earned an Academy Award nomination for the role and went on to reprise it in four more films: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). However, it was first reported in 2018 that Depp would not be returning as Captain Jack. “I think he’s had a great run. Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now,” screenwriter Stuart Beattie previously told the Daily Mail. “And kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it’s been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it.”

“I think Jack Sparrow will be his legacy. It’s the only character he’s played five times, it’s the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it’s what he’ll be remembered for,” Beattie added of Depp. “Before Jack Sparrow came along, [Depp] was considered this kind of quirky, independent actor that made these really cool little Tim Burton films, but he was by no means a movie star and a lot of people thought we were crazy for casting him at the time.”