Johnny Depp is possibly planning to make a comeback as the legendary Jack Sparrow. Although he was fired from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in 2018 as a result of his then-wife Amber Heard’s op-ed, the word is that he could come back to the franchise.
During a 15-year period, the Hollywood star was a major part of the franchise in five Pirates movies. His final role was as the Black Pearl in Dead Men Tell No Tales, which was released in 2017.
After winning his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, Depp has reportedly been in talks with Disney over a “$300 million deal,” according to a source.
According to the insider, Disney has recently contacted Depp in an effort to mend their broken relationship.
The source claims: ‘They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another pirate film or two.
The source added: ‘The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and a spin-off Disney Plus series about the early life of the Captain of The Black Pearl.’
The source continued: ‘What I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow, so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.’
The media company is apparently working on a “$301 million deal” to persuade Depp to return soon, and as a sign of goodwill, they are also believed to be adding a “sizeable donation” to a charity of Depp’s choice.
The 59-year-old actor earlier declared to the jury that he would never again collaborate with Disney after being dropped from the sixth Pirates film.
His team of lawyers claims that Depp missed out on a $22 million payout due to Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed, which did not specifically name Depp but did insinuate that Heard was a victim of domestic violence.
Depp claimed he felt like he was “guilty until proven innocent.”
The original Pirates script writer Stuart Beattie was the first person to officially confirm that Disney Studios was getting rid of the star in 2018.
Beattie said: ‘I think he’s had a great run. Obviously, he’s made that character his own, and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now.
‘And kids all over the world love him as that character, so I think it’s been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it.’
Depp filed a lawsuit in response to Heard’s op-ed.
The jury upheld all three of Depp’s claims relating to certain insinuations in the 2018 article.
The judge ruled that Depp should receive $15 million from Heard, but the punitive damage award was reduced from $5 to $350,000 due to the state cap.
After their six-week defamation trial, which finished earlier this month, the attorneys for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were unable to come to a last-minute deal that would have decreased the damages the actress owed to her ex-husband.
However, the judge formalized the verdict by issuing a written judgment urging Heard to compensate Depp $10.35 million for affecting his reputation by claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse in an op-ed she penned.