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Johnny Depp Goes Public With His Decision About Disney and “Pirates 6” on the Eve of His 60th Birthday

johnny depp as captain jack sparrow disney pirates of the caribbean
Credit: Disney/Canva

Johnny Depp has gone public with his final decision about returning to reprise his iconic role in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, just in time for his 60th birthday. But fans who’ve nearly taken to picketing and rioting in the streets to demand a Johnny Depp return to the helm of the Black Pearl should start seeking out their respective support groups now.

RELATED: Disney’s Pride Won’t Allow the Company to Admit Fault in Cutting Ties with Johnny Depp

johnny depp as captain jack sparrow in the jungle

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Johnny Depp is doubling down on his refusal to ever work for Disney again, though it isn’t for lack of making himself clear the first time. The Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actor has been extremely clear about his aversion to returning to the House of Mouse ever since he testified from the stand in a Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom in the spring of 2022. At that time, Depp was entangled in a messy defamation lawsuit–one that he filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard after she penned an opinion editorial piece for The Washington Post that never mentioned Depp by name but made every allusion to Depp as the evil villain behind the sexual violence, sexual abuse, and domestic abuse she claimed to have endured during her marriage.

RELATED: Johnny Depp in Demand: Actor Earned $10,000 Per Spoken Word in This Film Project

Depp made it unmistakably clear that he had no intentions of returning to Disney to film the sixth swashbuckling addition to the Pirates franchise, going so far as to say on April 20, 2022, that even an offer of “$300 million and one million alpacas” couldn’t make him go back to work for Walt Disney Studios.

“The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?” asked Heard attorney Ben Rottenborn.

Depp’s reply was short but very clear: “That is true, Mr. Rottenborn.”

Heard was found to be a liar in a court of law by a jury of her peers. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, was found to have proven each of the three claims he made in the formal complaint he filed with the court. But in the end, the damage was done, as the famous actor’s good name was sullied by Heard years before a courtroom jury would find him the victor, just as she intended. As a result, studios like Disney and Universal cut ties with Johnny Depp before ever hearing any part of his side of the story.

johnny depp and mickey mouse

Credit: Disney/D23

It was a dark time for Depp as his multi-decade career came to a screeching halt. Again, just as Amber Heard intended.

Despite Depp’s impeccable talent in embodying the very essence of Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney stupidly turned its back on the famous actor, finding him guilty until proven innocent. Even after a court of law found him to be an honest plaintiff–the true victim at the hands of his former spouse (instead of the twisted narrative she delivered under oath)–Disney refused to make any apologies to Depp for being so egregiously quick to throw him under the proverbial bus.

Shame on you, Disney.

Recent rumors have Depp earning as much as $20 million for reprising his role as the always-drunken, confrontation-avoiding captain of the Black Pearl, though Disney Studios President Sean Bailey said last week that the company is “non-committal” when it comes to a Depp-Disney reunion, even though Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said he’d love to see Depp back in the captain’s chair. Bailey’s response has led many to believe that the entertainment giant is leaving the door open for future talks with the actor. But it wouldn’t matter to Johnny Depp anyway.

johnny depp as captain jack sparrow

Credit: Disney

On Thursday, the day before his 60th birthday, some of the actor’s closest friends said that Depp has no interest in a “Disney comeback.”

“They blind-dropped him even though Amber had lied her *** off,” says a friend. Depp’s friend further said that the actor has decided that regardless of how lucrative an offer Disney might make, he will “never agree to go back for [Pirates 6].” That friend also shared that “it’s highly unlikely that Depp will be tempted to do any studio film again.”

And while we’d love nothing more than to see Depp back in his Perry of London flintlock, wearing a Queen Anne pistol in his sash, we can’t blame him for washing his hands of the studios and the franchise as well. Something tells this writer that deep down, in his innermost being, Depp knows that making a Pirates film sans the original Captain Jack Sparrow would be a fool’s errand on Disney’s part. But if that’s what Disney wants to do, let them get it a shot. At least it will continue the entertainment powerhouse’s current trend of failed films and sequels, savvy?

About Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!