Johnny Depp is reportedly in touch with Disney bosses about a return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
Pirates’ producers gave the shocking announcement Depp would be axed from the movies after his ex-wife Amber Heard accused the actor of physically abusing her in a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post.
At the time, Disney chiefs said they wanted to shake up the cast by removing Depp’s beloved character to bring a “new energy” to the movie. In May, the movie’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer angered millions of Pirates fans when he revealed Suicide Squad actress Margot Robbie would fill Captain Jack’s boots in Pirates 6.
Depp, who said he had “put a lot of [himself]” into the character accused Disney bosses of finding him “guilty until proven innocent” purely on hearsay put out by a jilted ex.
The 59-year-old actor had been playing the part of the lovable, mischievous pirate for over 15 years and Captain Jack’s popularity reached almost cult-like status.
The decision set social media alight, with many fans vowing not to watch the movie. A petition on change.org to reinstate Depp in the iconic role even racked up 875,000 signatures.
“But can you imagine no Jack Sparrow at all? No epic entry scores, no humorous dialogues and the guy with the most good [sic] and bad luck at the same time?” reads the petition.
“Don’t they know that without Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow they will sink, they will never be able to reach that horizon?”
Meanwhile, a petition to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2 surpassed 2 million signatures as movie insiders say it’s unlikely the actress will find much work in Hollywood anymore.
After Depp successfully sued Heard for defamation in a grueling 6-week-long trial, a source told Poptopic that Depp is in talks with the Mouse House about a $300 million deal to see him return as Captain Jack.
The source said Disney executives are keen to re-establish a good relationship with the actor, whose presence in the movies attracted millions of fans to theatres.
“They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another pirate film or two,” said the anonymous source.
“The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and a spin-off Disney Plus series about the early life of the Captain of The Black Pearl.”
According to the source, Disney is so keen to have Depp back as Captain Jack that the studio has already submitted a draft of the script:
“What I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.”
Not only will the deal include a cool pay package of $300 million, but Disney is now groveling to Depp so much that it will also throw in a “sizable donation” to any charity of his choice, said the source.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News
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