Nearly 1 Million Fans Have United To Get Johnny Depp His Pirate Career Back
Some people want Johnny Depp back on the high seas, and by some, we mean nearly a million people united together.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise was a major paradigm change not just for Johnny Depp, but for the movie industry as a whole. Despite starring an actor who was best known for artsy films and wanting to be a rock star (plus Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley) and being loosely based on an amusement park ride, the Pirates of the Caribbean unexpectedly became one of the biggest film franchises ever. To date, the last film in the series was 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which starred Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow; after his well-publicized legal battles, many thought he was done with the series and the Walt Disney Company was done with him. However, Johnny Depp fans remain convinced he needs to be brought back to the series and their petition has nearly a million signatures to prove it.
An online petition on change.org titled “Justice for Johnny Depp” currently has over 788,000 signatures and counting. The description of the petition is lengthy, but can be summed up as stating that Johnny Depp is a good actor, he was removed from the Pirates of the Caribbean series due to claims of domestic abuse made by his former spouse Amber Heard, and now that a jury has found Heard liable in three counts of defamation, he should be reinstated to the series. The petition directly addresses the Walt Disney Company and says “removing him was a mistake on your end but quite stupid if you ask me” (it does not appear to be an opinion solicited by Disney) and that “you all were the only ones who felt the need to let him go. Every other producer/director/writer believes in him and his innocence.”
Notably, Warner Bros. Pictures (a division of the company now known as Warner Bros.Discover) also felt the need to let Johnny Depp go, as he was removed from the ongoing Fantastic Beasts franchise and his role recast with Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. It can also be debated whether every other producer, director, and/or writer in show business has a favorable opinion of Johnny Depp, as can be seen by the recent perceived withdrawal of online support from his social media.
But regardless of the petition, it is undeniable that Johnny Depp’s career seems on the upswing. For the first time in a number of years, Depp is going to be starring in a movie, portraying the French King Louis XV in La Favorite alongside writer/director Maïwenn. He also has been frequently touring and performing with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, and recently has expanded into the fine arts. Johnny Depp’s first ever publicly available art show sold out almost immediately and made the actor millions of dollars in a very brief period of time. Finally, Disney has hinted at their possible willingness to bring Johnny Depp back to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow by adding him back to the ride, but we shall have to see if the petition has any real effect.
