For years, there has been a ton of controversy surrounding Disney’s sixth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It all began back in 2018, when Disney dropped Johnny Depp from the franchise. The move came after an OpEd from Depp’s ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, was published in The Washington Post. In the article, Heard accused Depp of physical, verbal, and mental abuse.
Disney has received a ton of backlash ever since it parted ways with Depp. And things only got worse for the Mouse House when Depp sued Heard for defamation and won.
Related: Johnny Depp Breaks Silence, Speaks Out on His New Role
Even though Depp was exonerated in the eyes of many, he is still not a part of Disney. During the trial, Depp said that, after the way he was treated, he would not return to Disney, even if they offered him $300 million and 1 million alpacas.
But it seems that Disney is determined to continue the Pirates franchise, even if that means no more Captain Jack Sparrow.
Related: Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Without Johnny Depp Pathway Revealed
On February 7, news began spreading that Disney was in talks to cast The Bear star Ayo Edebiri in the lead role of the new Pirates film.
Not long after, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk shared his dissatisfaction with the news, simply tweeting “Disney sucks.”
Disney sucks
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1755290360702734431
Related: Controversial, Yet Exciting, New Details Emerge for Pirates of the Caribbean 6
Unfortunately, Musk’s attack on Disney pulled in the racist trolls, many of whom have had problems with Disney since they cast Halle Bailey in the role of Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid (2023). Many of those who agreed with Musk’s tweet have also frequently called out Disney for what they consider “woke” policies and “woke” movies.
It is important to note that nothing has been confirmed by Disney when it comes to who will star in Pirates of the Caribbean 6. The initial tweet sharing the news was mere speculation.
At one point, Disney reportedly had a script ready to go with Barbie (2023) star Margot Robbie in the lead role. However, that did not come to fruition and Robbie said that the project was “dead”.
Related: Margot Robbie’s Pirates Movie “Not Entirely Dead” Says Jerry Bruckheimer
In September 2023, The Last of Us showrunner, Craig Mazin, revealed that he had pitched a new Pirates story to Disney and, much to his surprise, Disney purchased it. Mazin said that the move was unexpected because, in his own words, the story was “weird.” A script is currently in the works based on Mazin’s story pitch.
If not Johnny Depp, who would you like to see in the lead role in Pirates of the Caribbean 6? Let us know in the comments!
