One former Walt Disney Studios executive said there’s a “huge appetite” for Johnny Depp reprising his role in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” especially post-verdict.
The 58-year-old actor just won $10.35 million in a defamation suit against ex-fiancee Amber Heard after a very public six-week legal battle in Virginia. It wasn’t just money that Depp was after; he was seeking to restore his reputation.
“I absolutely believe post-verdict that ‘Pirates’ is primed for rebooting with Johnny as Capt. Jack back on board,” a former Disney executive told People. “There is just too much potential box-office treasure for a beloved character deeply embedded in the Disney culture.”
“With [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer riding high on the massive success of Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ there is huge appetite for bringing back bankable Hollywood stars in massively popular franchises,” the source continued.
Whether Bruckheimer wants Depp or not, it may be impossible to get him back. The Golden Globe award-winning actor is angry over being let go from the franchise after Heard accused him of abuse even though he wasn’t tried or convicted. During testimony, Depp said the studio rejecting him felt “like somebody hit me in the back of the head with a 2×4.”
The actor further said he would never return to “Pirates of the Caribbean” even if Disney offered him “$300 million and a million alpacas” The Daily Wire previously reported.
“Captain Jack Sparrow was a character I built from the ground up and was something that I, of course, put a lot of [myself] into the character and also having worked on these films with these people and added much of myself, much of my own re-writing of the dialogue and scenes and jokes,” he said. “I didn’t quite understand how, after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent.”
When Bruckheimer was asked about Depp’s potential return earlier this month, he said he wasn’t sure what would happen, but there were no plans to bring back Depp at the time.
“Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided,” the producer told The Sunday Times.
Depp doesn’t believe he needs “Pirates” or Captain Jack Sparrow to get his career back, though. The actor said in a statement after the verdict was read that the jury “gave me my life back” and the “best is yet to come” for him.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for children’s entertainment content.)
Source: Dailywire
