Johnny Depp Has One Condition To Return For Pirates Of The Caribbean 6

Will Captain Jack Sparrow suit up for one last ride? At the very least, Johnny Depp isn't ruling it out, but the actor has a condition to return for "Pirates of the Caribbean 6." Depp is in the midst of mounting a Hollywood comeback following his fall from grace several years ago, thanks to his highly publicized legal feud with his ex-wife Amber Heard. The Depp/Heard case was even explored in a two-part Discovery+ documentary. Now, though? He's back and may (emphasis on "may") yet return to his most famous role.

During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight for his Hollywood comeback movie "Ebenezer," the actor was asked about reprising his role as Jack Sparrow in the next "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, which has been in the works at Disney for some time. Here's what he had to say about it:

"If things are exactly where they need to be with regard to how they are going to top off the 'Pirates' franchise ...The only involvement I really want to have, truly, is just to send them off on a better note.

"I will go to work with [producer] [Jerry] Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything," Depp added. "Doesn't matter ...If it's Jerry, I trust him. We have a deep friendship."

All of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies have been hits at the box office, with much of that attributed to Depp's work as Jack Sparrow. In light of everything that's happened in recent years, it's also easy to forget that he was nominated for an Oscar for his work on "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." So, it's not hard to grasp why bringing him back might seem appealing. But Disney needs to decide if the inevitable circus that will create would be worth it.

Johnny Depp hasn't been in a big blockbuster in nearly a decade. He dropped out of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise after a court case verdict related to the tabloid The Sun running a story where it referred to him as a "wife beater." Since then, he's taken on roles in smaller movies like "Jeanne du Barry."

Depp lost his suit against The Sun, but the actor and Amber Heard later settled a defamation case in 2022. And while that sort of paved the way for his attempted comeback, the optics surrounding Depp are still pretty lousy. Unfortunately, in Hollywood, money speaks louder than anything else. That is to say, should "Ebenezer" become a hit (suggesting the general public has an appetite for a Johnny Depp comeback), we'll be all the more likely to see Jack Sparrow again.

Setting aside the Depp of it all, Disney ultimately needs to decide how they want to handle this franchise's future. "Pirates of the Caribbean" remains the studio's only theme park ride turned hit film property, but getting a sixth movie made has proved difficult. At one point, it looked like "Pirates of the Caribbean 6" was going to set sail with Margot Robbie in the lead, but that has yet to happen.

At another point, it was suggested that the next "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie would be a total reboot. Multiple scripts have been developed, yet nothing has stuck. Basically, this movie is going to happen at some point, with or without Depp. So, Disney needs to decide what, exactly, it wants to do here. We'll see how it all shakes out.

"Pirates of the Caribbean 6" doesn't currently have a release date, but stay tuned.