Long before anyone had heard of Captain Jack Sparrow, there was a dark, damp boat ride in New Orleans Square. Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Disneyland in 1967, and generations of guests have since drifted past singing skeletons, cannon fire, and a village going up in flames. It was one of the last attractions Walt Disney personally worked on.
Then, in 2003, Disney tried something that sounded a little ridiculous at the time. It turned the ride into a movie. Nobody expected much, and then Johnny Depp stumbled onto the screen with kohl-rimmed eyes and a swagger nobody had seen before. Suddenly a theme park attraction had launched one of the biggest film franchises of the century.
The movies changed the parks, too. Jack Sparrow was added to the ride itself in 2006, and he still pops up throughout the attraction today. So whenever there is news about the future of the films, park fans pay attention. And this week there is plenty to talk about, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Depp Names His One Reason to Come Back
Johnny Depp says he is open to playing Captain Jack Sparrow again, but only for one reason. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight while promoting his new film Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, he explained what would actually get him back into the pirate hat.
“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,” Depp said.
He also made it clear that loyalty plays a big part. “I will go to work with [Jerry] Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything. Doesn’t matter… if it’s Jerry, I trust him. We have a deep friendship.”
That is not a confirmed return. It is, however, the warmest Depp has sounded about the franchise in years, and there is a long story behind why.
How Depp and Disney Drifted Apart
In December 2018, Amber Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” She never named Depp, her ex-husband, in the piece. Not long after, Depp was out as Jack Sparrow.
Disney never publicly gave a reason. During the later trial, Depp’s agent Jack Whigham testified that a deal worth $22.5 million had been closed for a sixth film, and that the op-ed was “catastrophic” for the actor’s career. Heard’s legal team pushed back on the timing, pointing to reports from before the op-ed that the studio was already moving on.
The legal fight played out in two countries. In 2020, Depp lost a libel case in London against the publisher of The Sun, which had called him a “wife beater.” The judge found the claims “substantially true.”
Then came the televised Virginia trial in 2022. On June 1, a jury found that Heard had defamed Depp with the op-ed and awarded him $10.35 million after the punitive damages were reduced under a state cap. Heard won one of her counterclaims and was awarded $2 million, tied to statements from Depp’s former attorney Adam Waldman.
Both sides appealed. In December 2022 they settled, with Heard agreeing to a $1 million payment that Depp pledged to donate to charity.
Five Voyages With Captain Jack
Depp headlined all five Pirates of the Caribbean films, each produced by Jerry Bruckheimer:
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
That last one starred Depp alongside Javier Bardem and Kaya Scodelario, with Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley returning. Nearly a decade later, it is still the most recent trip out to sea.
Two Ships Still in the Harbor
Bruckheimer has been working on a sixth film for years. Back in 2022, he told The Hollywood Reporter they were “getting very close” and had a “very good script.” He also said the franchise would be rebooted, partly because “you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”
That reboot is being written by Jeff Nathanson. “I think he’s cracked it,” Bruckheimer told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s got an amazing third act. We just gotta clean up the first and second and then we’ll get there.”
There is also a second project, written by Christina Hodson of Birds of Prey, which was set to star Margot Robbie. In her 2022 Vanity Fair cover story, Robbie described it as “a different kind of story” and added, “I guess they don’t want to do it.” Bruckheimer disagrees. “We hope to get ’em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too,” he told EW.
And Depp? Bruckheimer has said he has talked to him about it. “It’s a reboot, but if it was up to me, he would be in it,” the producer said. “He created Captain Jack. That was not on the page; that was him doing a little Pepé Le Pew and Keith Richards.”
Dead Men Tell No Tales, but Park Fans Do
Nothing is official yet. There is no confirmed cast, no release date, and no word from Disney on whether Captain Jack will sail again. What we do have is a producer who wants him back and an actor who finally sounds willing, as long as the story gives the character a proper goodbye.
For anyone who grew up riding through that pirate town, it is hard not to be curious. Jack Sparrow has been part of the attraction for twenty years now, and seeing him get one last chapter on screen would feel a bit like closing a circle.
So here is our question for you. Would you want Depp back for one final send-off, or is it time for a brand new crew? Let us know in the comments, and next time you are floating past the jail scene with the dog and the keys, give a little wave to the captain for us.
