Johnny Depp Says He’d Return as Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ for Only One Reason: ‘I Want to Send Them Off on a Better Note’

Johnny Depp is finally sounding off about the possibility of returning as Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean 6.” Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on his “Ebenezer” press tour, the Oscar nominee stopped short of confirming he will put the pirate costume on once more. Instead, Depp said he would never turn down a request from friend and franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

“If things are exactly where they need to be with regard to how they are going to top off the ‘Pirates’ franchise… the only involvement I really want to have, truly, is just to send them off on a better note,” Depp said when asked about being involved with the next installment in the franchise. “I will go to work with [Jerry] Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything. Doesn’t matter… if it’s Jerry, i trust him. We have a deep friendship.”

Bruckheimer confirmed to Entertainment Weekly in summer 2025 that he had spoken to Depp about a new “Pirates” movie. The producer felt optimistic at the time that Jack Sparrow could return, saying: “If he likes the way the part’s written, I think he would do it. It’s all about what’s on the page, as we all know… We are still working on a screenplay. We want to make it. We just got to get the right screenplay. We haven’t quite gotten there yet, but we’re close.”

Depp headlined five “Pirates” movies from 2003 to 2017, all of which grossed more than $650 million at the worldwide box office. 2006’s “Dead Man’s Chest” and 2011’s “On Stranger Tides” both topped the $1 billion mark. His future with the Disney-backed series has been a question mark since his legal troubles and his 2022 libel trial against Amber Heard, although he’s mounting his Hollywood comeback this month with the Paramount-backed holiday movie “Ebenezer.” With Depp front and center, the “Pirates” movies have collectively grossed $4.5 billion.

The road to a sixth “Pirates” movie has been a long one, with Variety reporting in summer 2020 that Disney was in early development on two “Pirates” movies: A reboot led by Margot Robbie and a sixth film in the original franchise. Robbie revealed to Vanity Fair in November 2022 that Disney was not interested in her “more of a female-led” movie. Meanwhile, Bruckheimer told EW in summer 2024 that screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (2017’s “Dead Men Tell No Tales”) had boarded the proper “Pirates 6.”

“He’s cracked it,” Bruckheimer said at the time of Nathanson’s script. “He’s got an amazing third act. We just gotta clean up the first and second and then we’ll get there. But he wrote a great, great third act.”

Bruckheimer said around the same time that he would be open to bringing Depp back for the Nathanson-penned movie, explaining: “It’s a reboot, but if it was up to me, [Johnny] would be in it. I love him. He’s a good friend. He’s an amazing artist and he’s a unique look. He created Captain Jack. That was not on the page, that was him doing a little Pepé Le Pew and Keith Richards. That was his interpretation of Jack Sparrow.”

Depp’s last Hollywood studio movie was 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” although he now has two upcoming ones thanks to “Ebenzer” and Lionsgate’s 2028 thriller “Day Drinker.” Warner Bros. asked Depp to exit “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” after he lost his 2020 libel trial against The Sun. The actor sued the U.K. publication for referring to him as a “wife beater,” but the court ruled this characterization of Depp was “substantially true.” Depp was eventually recast in the sequel with Mads Mikkelsen.

A second trial centered on Depp took place in the U.S. in 2022 after Depp sued ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as “a figure representing domestic abuse.” The outcome of this trial was more in Depp’s favor, as the jury ultimately ruled that Heard did defame Depp in the op-ed (although the jury also ruled that Depp defamed Heard in the course of fighting back against her charges).