Three years after Johnny Depp’s messy divorce from Amber Heard and a year after his very public defamation lawsuits tore his reputation to shreds, it looks like he may be open to returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in the 6th Pirates of the Caribbean movie currently in development after all. As most know by now, Depp and Disney parted ways because of his ex-wife’s abuse allegations during their messy breakup. Feeling betrayed by Disney a few years removed from the 5th movie in the franchise, Depp announced he would never play the iconic character ever again.

Heard sued Depp for damages and he countersued for Defamation, citing his break from Disney. Two trials were held. One in the U.S. and one in the UK (Depp is a British citizen). It was during the trials Depp revealed he turned down $22 Million from Disney for the next movie because of the damages of his ex-wife’s public alliegations against him. The trial quickly became a “Who do you want to believe?” situation and it understandably split longtime fans of Depp’s work. Most were made to feel they could not support Depp, who they loved for his work as an actor AND his ex-wife Amber Heard. More so given how quickly things escalated between them legally. The “both sides are culpable” decision made things worse to say the least.

With the legal process involving Depp and Heard now ended and allowing some time to pass, Disney has apprently been working hard to get Depp to reprise his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow. Disney even went so far as to publicly apologize for not standing by Depp when his ex-wife’s abuse allegations first broke. That angered a lot of people sympathetic to Heard to say the least but given Disney’s ongoing feud with Florida governor and 2024 Presidental Candidate Ron DeSantis, they could care less at this point. I did some digging around online and it looks like Depp has now “forgiven” Disney but has not yet committed to the movie currently in development.

Kiera Knightley, who played Elizabeth Swann in four of the five movies quit Disney after the company distanced itself from Depp. She felt after making millions for Disney through the first five movies, the company owed Depp a debt of gratitude and loyalty during that difficult time. Her character played a leading role in the first three movies but doesn’t appear in the 4th movie, On Stranger Tides. The third movie ended with Swann and Will Turner (played by Orlando Bloom) forcibly separated after Turner becomes the new captain of The Flying Dutchman. Will’s father, who was bound to the cursed ship himself cut out his son’s heart and put it in the Dead Man’s Chest to save his son’s life (“The Dutchman must always have a Captain”). Turner Sr. was freed from the curse as a result of this but volunteers to remain by his son’s side anyway.

During the post-credits scene for At World’s End it’s 10 years later. Captain Turner returns to land for a day after 10 years at sea and meets his now 10 year old son for the first time. The Turner family’s story continues in Dead Men Tell No Tales: A year after meeting his father, Henry Turner locates the Flying Dutchman and tells his father he will find a way to free him from the curse that binds him. Nine years later, the rest of the movie plays out. With Corina’s help, Henry finds Poseidon’s Trident. Breaking it breaks all curses at sea. Not just the one binding Will Turner but the one that bound Salazar and his crew. Later we see Turner and his wife reunite on the show as Henry and Corina look on nearby. The post-credits scene for Dead Men Tell No Tales reveals Davey Jones, whose disenbodied heart was stabbed by Jack Sparrow may be back and has his successor in his sights.

That’s where we are right now in terms of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie-verse. As best as I can tell, there WILL be a 6th movie. Longtime producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who worked on most of the movies confirmed the 6th movie is in development. The big question with no clear answer is will Captain Jack Sparrow will be in it or not? If he IS in the next movie, he would likely play a more diminished role like he did in the last two movies or even just make very brief appearances. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Disney to say he’ll be in the movie and even tease it in trailers but just don’t show his face. For example just showing him from behind or keeping his face obscured. This would allow the character to be in the movie without using the actor in a sense.

WWE got Johnny Depp to audio record the introspective for Wrestlemania 36, which had a pirate theme due to the event originally booked to happen in Raymond James Stadium which is home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs won the Super Bowl a few months earlier and WWE was hoping to capialize on that before COVID-19 forced plans to change. They already got Depp to record the pre-show introspective and just used the audio from that. The theme music was notably similar to the theme for Pirates of the Caribbean and I can’t help but wonder if WWE either got permission from Disney or paid Hans Zimmer himself to do it.

On a related note. Before his messy divorce, Depp was known to travel everywhere with a Captain Jack Sparrow costume. That way, he could make surprise visits at Children’s Hospitals and orphanages all over the world. Sometimes he would get some of his costars to tag along. One minute he’s at a charity event in a suit and tie, the next he’s in character as Jack Sparrow in a Children’s Hospital. Most of the time, hospital staff didn’t know it was the real Jack Sparrow until they saw the media pulling up outside after he arrived. It got to the point a few fans would hang out at hospitals knowing there was a good chance Depp might drop by before he left the area. He made it a point to. He wasn’t paid to do it. He just did it to give the kids a few moments to not think about being in the hospital. He never asked for or expected anything in return.

THAT is the Johnny Depp who became beloved by many over most of the last 20 years.

Even before his divorce, most were aware Depp had personal issues. Some of them came out in the various characters he played over the years starting with Edward Scissorhands. It’s not that people didn’t believe the alliegations. The issue was the fact Amber Heard chose to make the matter public from the beginning in an effort to get public support for herself and also tapping into the #MeToo Movement. Most people chose to wait until the facts were known which surprised me and while opinions were split, most supported Depp. It’s not that people didn’t believe her. It was the fact he made it clear he was no saint and this was publicly known.

What he disputed was her accusations he was violent with her. A jury agreed and Depp was awared $15 million in total. Heard pressed criminal charges against Depp. He beat the charges and was awarded $10 Million. The additional $5 Million was punitive damages. She got $2 Million in punitive damages in comparison. She fell into a depression and moved to Madrid, Spain. Contrary to popular to a lot of speculation because of her move to Spain, Heard has not quit acting. In fact she is confirmed to appear in Aquaman 2 whenever that movie gets made along with a few other projects.

Depp won the court case but his reputation was torn to shreds and he knew a lot of people who admired him now looked at him differently because of what came out in court. Despite that, I do think most people would be willing to support Depp again. More so given Disney has been going out of its way to lure Depp back. What makes the reports credible is apparently there’s a few online petitions floating around urging people to boycott the movie if Depp is in it. As of now, Depp has other projects he is working on including a French movie that will be on Netflix sometime later this year. The belief is Depp is open to working with Disney again but is focusing on his other projects for now.

From what I can find online, the plan is likely for Jack Sparrow to make a cameo appearance in the 6th movie. There was talk of Margo Robbie replacing Sparrow for the lead role but it looks like those plans were scrapped when it was confirmed Depp is willing to return. I do remember hearing after the 5th movie dropped but before Depp’s legal issues happened an idea was floated for a Disney+ Pirates of the Caribbean TV series following a younger Jack Sparrow. The precident was set during Salazar’s flashback scene in Dead Men Tell No Tales which featured a younger Sparrow played by a different actor.

Like I said before though, the sixth movie will likely pick up where the postcredits scene from Dead Men Tell No Tales pointed to: The apparent return of Davy Jones. I missed this the first time I saw Dead Man’s Chest almost 20 years ago but Davy Jones’ appearance drew heavy inspiration from the Cthulhu mythos by H.P. Lovecraft. It was a clever and subtle way of explaining how The Flying Dutchman can pop up anywhere at any time. In At World’s End, it’s revealed Davey Jones was the one who showed the first Pirate Court how to bind his lover Calypso, Goddess and living embodiment of the sea into a single human form. We’re introduced to her human form Tia Dalma in Dead Man’s Chest.

Something I totally missed the first few times I saw that movie: In the first scene in her cottage, if you pay attention VERY closely when Jack the Monkey goes into the back room, you will see a pair of feet the money seems to recognize. At the end of the movie we find out that was none other than Hector Barbossa. He was shot by Jack Sparrow at the end of The Curse of The Black Pearl. It’s revealed in At World’s End Barbossa was brought back to life by Tia Dalma because he was a member of the Pirate Court and would be needed to return her to her true form. As she explained, the reason she could not bring back Jack Sparrow in the same way is because he was banished body and soul to another realm. This the other reason she brought Barbossa back from the dead: To guide his friends to the other side to bring Sparrow back.

In At World’s End it’s revealed in exchange for Tia Dalma bringing him back to life, Barbossa would return her to her true chaotic formless self. Shao Feng mistakenly believed Elizabeth Swann was really Calypso and this was why he named her his successor just before he he died. On that note, they had to go get Sparrow since he was banished to The Locker without having named a successor. The same was likely true of Barbossa, who was also a member of the Brethren Court when he died at the end of the first movie. Bringing a soul back from the other side is one thing and is well within Tia Dalma’s power to do. Jack Sparrow’s situation was beyond her power so Barbossa and his friends had to go to The Locker to get him out.

All that said. Tia Dalma said a few things about Davey Jones that may explain how he’s back 10 years after his apparent demise. She said his original purpose was to ferry the souls of those who die at sea to the other side but he corrupted his purpose. This is further highlighted when he visits her in person. She touches his chest and for a few moments we see his original human form. This indicates his human form was likely the form he had when she put him in charge of presiding over the souls of those who die at sea. As is demonstrated in Dead Man’s Chest, Davy Jones does as is described in the mythology about him. He gives sailors who are dead or dying a choice: Serve on his ship or die.

My guess is in the sixth movie, we find out more about that and how he’s back obviously. Calypso will likely be involved as well. Jack Sparrow aside, another big question is weather or not Keira Knightly, who plays Elizabeth Swann would be willing to return knowing Disney and Depp are willing to work together again. If not they could probably still do the movie without her character. Carina has seemingly accepted her father’s legacy as a pirate and is also the interest of Henry Turner. They would probably be heavily involved.

Many fans consider the “Return of the Kraken” to be the working title for the 6th movie. The thing is, the East India Trading Company strung up Davy Jones’ “pet” at some point between Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. It’s ALSO true we don’t know for sure the Kraken actually was dead. Even if it was, its size alone already made it clear it was no ordinary beastie. This goes back to the Cthulhu mythos references that I mentioned before. What if the Kraken either wasn’t really dead or revived itself? What if after reviving itself, the Kraken recovered Davey Jones’ body and revived him too? All we know for now is Davey Jones is back somehow and has his sights on Will Turner, who succeeded him as captain of The Flying Dutchman. The movie could be done without Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan’s possible absence from the movie would require an explaination.

I mentioned before the current plan is for Jack Sparrow to make a cameo appearance in the next movie. Meaning he would not have a large role in the story’s plot. Why not just say he, Elizabeth Swann and The Black Pearl were sent to another dimension by Davey Jones? That could be done to explain their absence from the movie. We know that at the end of On Stranger Tides, Gibbs pilfered Blackbeard’s cache of captured ships. Sparrow kept the Black Pearl obviously but we don’t know what became of the other ships after that. Barbossa claimed Blackbeard’s ship and sword after cutting him down but both were lost during the events of Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The point is there’s a lot of loose ends from the last two movies that could be tapped into. We’ll have to wait and see.

 

 

 

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