Jerry Bruckheimer confirms talks with Johnny Depp for Pirates 6

During his 2022 defamation trial, Johnny Depp testified under oath that he would not return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise even if offered $300 million and a million alpacas. Now, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that the actor is in active discussions to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow for a sixth film.

Speaking to Deadline at D23, Bruckheimer stated:

"We're talking with Johnny, we're working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,"

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Jerry Bruckheimer, Producer, via Deadline

The negotiations suggest a potential reconciliation between Depp and Disney, the studio that dropped him from the series in 2018 amid allegations of domestic abuse. While Bruckheimer has expressed a personal desire for Depp's return, saying, If it’s up to me, he (Johnny Depp) will be in it, the actual terms of any agreement may differ from the franchise's previous structure. According to reports from Page Six and Variety, the sixth installment may not center on Captain Jack Sparrow.

Instead, the production is reportedly eyeing a new direction featuring Margot Robbie in a central lead role. If this structure holds, Depp would transition from the franchise's primary protagonist to a supporting character. Bruckheimer previously hinted that theories regarding Robbie's character — specifically that she might play Captain Jack Sparrow's son — were close on part of it when questioned by Entertainment Tonight.

The stakes for this return are not merely financial. The Pirates of the Caribbean series is one of Disney's most lucrative live-action properties, generating more than $4.5 billion worldwide, according to theguardian.com and English. Two of the films, Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides, each earned more than $1 billion.

For Depp, the return would signal a professional rehabilitation. He previously claimed his career was done from the second allegations were made against him and described the period as a boycott. Despite this, he has continued working on projects including the 2023 French drama Jeanne du Barry and the 2024 animation Johnny Puff: Secret Mission.

The franchise's legacy remains fragmented as the studio attempts to get the band back together, a phrase used by Orlando Bloom when discussing the possibility of reuniting the original cast.

• Orlando Bloom: Open to returning as Will Turner.
• Keira Knightley: Stated her pirating days are over, according to People.
• Gore Verbinski: The director of the first three films has ruled out a return, stating he has moved on.

Development of the sixth film has been prolonged and unstable. The screenplay has undergone multiple iterations, with previous involvement from The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin and veteran writer Ted Elliott. Mazin had previously teased a really cool story, but Bruckheimer clarified that multiple scripts were considered before the team moved forward with one version.

Depp's path back to the mainstream has been gradual. While he told the 2023 Cannes Film Festival that he had stopped relying on the mainstream studio system, he is currently working on Day Drinker, a project that reunites him with former co-star Penélope Cruz, according to English.

The legal road to this reconciliation was marked by severe professional setbacks. Beyond the Disney split, Depp faced a 2020 libel lawsuit in the UK after the Sun newspaper characterized him as a wife-beater. After the court found that description substantially true, Warner Bros requested his resignation from the Fantastic Beasts franchise while filming for a third movie had already begun. Though a 2022 US jury later found Amber Heard liable for defamation, and the pair eventually settled for a $1 million payment to Depp, the actor has remained cautious.

The studio now faces the challenge of integrating a former lead who once felt boycotted by Hollywood. With no official release date yet for the sixth film, Bruckheimer stated in 2025 that Depp's involvement would depend on his response to the material.

The first tangible test of the actor's current mainstream draw arrives on November 13, 2026, with the release of Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol. Directed by Ti West, the film sees Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge and serves as the immediate real-world metric for his appeal before any final agreement with Disney is reached.