Johnny Depp will not return as his iconic character Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Disney’s film production chief Sean Bailey has confirmed. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Bailey was asked if the “Pirates…” reboot, to be written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, could survive without Depp.
Depp, who has played the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in five films across 14 years, would not be a part of the upcoming project – set to be written by Deadpool’s Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese.
He replied, “We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.” Reports that Depp would not be in the reboot surfaced in October during a red carpet interview in which the original film’s screenwriter, Stuart Beattie, called the star’s time on the franchise “a great run”.
The films have minted over USD 4.5 billion, making it the twelfth biggest franchise of all time. The first ‘Pirates’ film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, hit the big screens in 2003, the most recent movie in the franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2015