Johnny Depp has laid out his one condition for returning as Captain Jack Sparrow.
The 61-year-old actor told Entertainment Tonight he would not turn down franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer if the script meets his standard. Depp has played the drunken pirate through five films since 2003, but his future with the series became uncertain after his highly publicized 2022 defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.
“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.
“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 had already signaled Depp’s door remained open. The producer said he had spoken directly with the actor about Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
“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,” Bruckheimer said.
The last franchise entry, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, hit theaters in 2017. Disney has since struggled to chart a course forward, with multiple competing projects in various stages of development.
Margot Robbie, 34, has been linked to a female-led spin-off that Bruckheimer insists remains alive. Speaking at The Wrap’s The Grill conference, the producer addressed speculation that the Barbie star had exited.
“We’re working on a script. It’s always on the page; if we don’t have it on the page, it’s not gonna get on the screen,” he continued.
“We had two scripts at one point, and then one kinda dropped out, and then we kinda went on with the other one.”
When pressed directly on Robbie’s status, Bruckheimer added: “Well, she’s still involved.”
The dual-track development leaves Disney with two potential paths: a Depp-led finale centered on Jack Sparrow or Robbie’s reimagined take. Bruckheimer’s comments suggest both could theoretically coexist, though resources typically consolidate around one flagship project.
Depp’s emphasis on “sending them off on a better note” implies awareness of the franchise’s declining critical reception. Dead Men Tell No Tales earned the weakest reviews of the series despite grossing nearly $800 million worldwide.
The actor’s trial testimony in 2022 included a memorable moment when he declared he would not return to Disney for “$300 million and a million alpacas,” a remark that fueled assumptions his Sparrow days were finished. His softened stance toward Bruckheimer specifically — rather than the studio itself — marks a notable shift.
Bruckheimer’s trust in the page-over-everything approach has defined his decades-long career producing blockbusters from Top Gun to Beverly Hills Cop. His Depp comments mirror that philosophy: the right material, not nostalgia or paycheck, would seal any reunion.
Neither Disney nor Depp has confirmed active negotiations. The screenplay Bruckheimer referenced remains unfinished, leaving any potential production timeline speculative.
Bruckheimer is scheduled to appear at the Produced By conference in Los Angeles later this month.