Johnny Depp Will Only Be Allowed To Play Jack Sparrow If This Happens
Johnny Depp's acting future is currently in jeopardy, but there may still be a chance he could return as Captain Jack Sparrow.
This article is more than 2 years old
Johnny Depp may be having the worst 2020 and that’s really saying something considering the disaster this year has been. But Depp is currently circling the drain in both the public sphere, as well as his Hollywood status and his ability to find work. This shouldn’t be a surprise in light of some pretty alarming allegations about his behavior and treatment of ex-wife Amber Heard, but he’s been in the news cycle for all the wrong reasons over the last few months. Even though he was recently fired from Fantastic Beasts 3, and from a cameo in an upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean film, recent rumors suggest there might be a path for him to re-don the scarves and eyeliner as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Last week, after his libel case against the British tabloid The Sun was settled, Johnny Depp came out the loser. He had argued that the paper’s labeling of him as a “wife-beater” constituted defamation of character. Turns out, there are worse things than being labeled a spousal abuser, and that is being a proven spousal abuser, which is what The Sun did in the trial. Because libel is considered printing false statements that damage a person’s reputation, The Sun had to prove Depp was in fact what they claimed, and according to the court’s ruling, The Sun did just that.
The Sun proved that Johnny Depp had at least 14 different counts of abuse toward Amber Heard in their brief and ill-fated relationship. Some of these incidents included horrific and scary details of physical abuse. There were reports of incidents involving defecation, headbutting, strangulation, severed fingers, and even Heard claiming to fear for her life.
The Sun proved that Johnny Depp had at least 14 different counts of abuse toward Amber Heard in their brief and ill-fated relationship. Some of these incidents included horrific and scary details of physical abuse. There were reports of incidents involving defecation, headbutting, strangulation, severed fingers, and even Heard claiming to fear for her life.
But according to reports, there might be a path for Johnny Depp to return to Pirates of the Caribbean, though it’s unclear if he’d be willing to go this route. Supposedly, Disney has signaled that if Depp were to enter a retrial/appeal with The Sun and win, they would be open to bringing him back into the fold. Which begs the question, how much does Depp think he was wronged in the first trial and is he willing to open up this Pandora’s Box once more? Considering he’s about to enter another case in a lawsuit against the Washington Post, it doesn’t seem likely he’d want to drum up another fight against the tabloid considering what a trainwreck the first one turned out to be.
It’s worth noting that this possible open door for Johnny Depp to return likely only applies to Pirates and not to the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. He was fired from that franchise last week in his role as Gellert Grindelwald. Even if Warner Bros. did decide to make a similar deal for the Fantastic Beasts series, the timeline for reopening and winning a new case in enough time for Depp to still star would be impossible. For Depp, the Fantastic Beasts ship seems to have sailed for good.
One would have to assume Johnny Depp sees the stakes around these cases as very high, considering the monetary amounts mentioned as well as the prospect of future work in Hollywood hanging in the balance. That Disney would keep the door at least a crack open for him is interesting, but it’s hard to see it ever fully opening. Considering what’s already been put out in public about the actor in the first trial, relitigating and winning feels impossible.
