Talking about Johnny Depp in 2026 can be a migraine-inducing affair. Between all of the legal allegations, scandals, and media frenzies fueled by misinformation, the man has become a cesspool of toxic discourse in every conceivable way. Despite all of this, the once-beloved actor is in the middle of attempting to mount a cinematic comeback between films like the impending Ebenezer and next year’s Day Drinker (an unbelievably tasteless title for a modern-day Depp vehicle, but I digress). In a recent interview, Depp even elaborated that he is in talks with Disney and legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer to return for a new Pirates of the Caribbean film, saying he’d love to return to the series.
And of course he would. Is it a surprise to literally anyone that Johnny Depp is keen to return to the single most profitable series of films of his entire career, and get a substantially sized paycheck to play Jack Sparrow one more time? Of course not. But the real question is: should Johnny Depp really return for this tentative sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film?
Though the 2020s have been a decade defined by failure and controversy for Depp, it’s critical to note that he once really was an exceptional performer. Emerging into the spotlight in the mid-‘80s with works like 21 Jump Street and A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp really found his footing in the ‘90s, teaming up with filmmakers like Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, etc.) to critically acclaimed and culturally impactful results. Come the early ‘00s, Depp was a notoriously unconventional choice to play the lead character in Disney’s new movie adaptation of one of their most beloved theme park attractions, but director Gore Verbinski went to-bat for the performer and ultimately got his way. And when Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl released in 2003, Verbinski was proven right and Depp became an outright icon in a whole new way.
In the years following that, Depp would return for each subsequent Pirates sequel, all the way up to the fifth and currently final film, 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. That film (released as Depp was already knee-deep in allegations and accusations of perpetual relapses) underperformed at the box office and was not exactly beloved by critics or audiences. Now, with a 20-year nostalgia cycle in full swing, Disney is interested in trudging up the sunken franchise and seeing if there’s any wind left in her sails. And of course, the first question anyone wants answered is whether or not Depp will return as Jack Sparrow, or if the franchise will move on.
There’s already been much back and forth about this in the press, from Bruckheimer and Depp alike, to the extent that it seems as though Disney is waiting to see how general audiences react to Depp’s upcoming ‘comeback’ films to decide how to proceed. For my money’s worth, even divorced from whatever the hell Depp is doing at its center, Ebenezer looks genuinely terrible and is almost certain to bomb when it releases in a few weeks. That is sure to give Disney pause, and complicate matters all the more.
Which is why if Disney is hell-bent on resurrecting the Pirates series, they should just move on without Depp. There will be an inevitable initial backlash online from Depp supporters, but I would be willing to wager that the vast majority of general audiences would be much more likely to see a fresh take on the material than they would to see a 63-year-old man swaggering about as a drunken mess.
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