Johnny Depp has confirmed that he will not be returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and has stated that he will not work with Disney on the beloved film series in the future.
This information comes from the ongoing defamation trial that sees Depp looking to sue former spouse Amber Heard for $50 million, due to an article that Heard published that is claimed to have affected Depp's career.
During the trial, Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn began to reference an article from the Daily Mail, wherein it's noted that Depp is "out" as Captain Jack Sparrow. In response to the article being brought up, Depp stated that with everything going on at that time, he is sure that "Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe."
Shortly after, however, Disney's contemplation of removing Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean was brought up again, with Depp adding, "They didn't remove my character from the rides. They didn't stop selling dolls of Captain Jack Sparrow. They didn't stop selling anything. They just didn't want there to be something trailing behind me that they'd find."
This led Rottenborn to pose a question about something Depp said in his deposition, about Depp being finished with Pirates of the Caribbean, and having no intention to ever appear in Pirates 6.
Rottenborn stated, "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?"
To which Depp replied, "That is true, Mr. Rottenborn."
Would you have liked to see Depp back as Captain Jack?
Thanks, Variety.