Johnny Depp may have walked the plank as Jack Sparrow for the last time according to some reports. A “Pirates Of The Caribbean” exec hinted recently that the actor would not appear in the newly planned reboot of the franchise.
The 55-year-old has played Jack Sparrow in the films for the past 15 years, but he will reportedly no longer be part of the films as Disney Studios plan a reboot.
As Disney Studios confirm they are planning a major reboot for the franchise, script writer Stuart Beattie revealed in an interview with DailyMailTV that they were planning on reworking the whole franchise – and implying that Johnny Depp might not appear in the reboot.
“I think he’s had a great run”, the writer said of Johnny Depp’s 15 years playing Jack Sparrow. “Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now. And kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it’s been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it.”
He went on to say that playing the pirate will be Depp’s “legacy” as “it’s the only character he’s played five times”, adding that it was the franchise that helped him to establish himself as an actor.
Screenrant reported back in August that, Disney is keen to bring Joachim Ronning back to direct a sixth Pirates movie, which would likely focus on the new, younger cast members; Brenton Thwaites as Henry Turner, and Kaya Scodelario as Carina Smyth.
According to Deadline, Disney has had early talks with Deadpool and Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about writing a script.
It is not known why Depp has been dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, but Depp’s private life has been seriously marred recently by allegations of abuse from ex-wife Amber Heard, of substance abuse, of his treatment of cast and crew, and his general behavior on set.
At this point, it’s unclear if the statements would mean the end of Depp’s role as Jack Sparrow. Only time will tell.