Johnny Depp says goodbye to Captain Jack Sparrow

Johnny Depp has answered our long-asking question about the fates of Captain Jack Sparrow and the continuation of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which has been a Disney staple for nearly two decades.

During his trial on Wednesday against ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation, Depp confirmed that Disney relieved him from his converted role of the infamous pirate from the sixth installment of the Pirates franchise, days after Heard published an opinion piece in the Washington Post back in 2018. The film hasn’t been produced and is in “dangle mode” according to Depp.

Due to the outcome of Amber’s words, the actor knew that his career was “done” instantaneously after the allegations were made against him.

He also elaborated that the Mickey Mouse conglomerate “cut ties just to be safe” and has no plans to return to the franchise, even though he was unknowingly exempted.  Even if Disney changed their minds, offered him back the Sparrow role, and granted a “$300 million paycheck and a million alpacas,” Depp is done with Pirates and the company.

Yet, despite his leaving, the Disney Parks will still feature Jack Sparrow in their attractions and Sparrow merchandise will still be marketed to consumers.  After all, he is still a fan-favorite among the young and old, and an integral member of the Disney legacy.  It’s not every day that Hollywood comes up with such a crafty and recognizable character and fashioned after one of history’s most notorious pirates, Jack Ward, whose nickname was also Sparrow.

We last saw Depp as Sparrow in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, partnering with Javier Bardem as the bloodthirsty undead pirate hunter, Armando Salazer.  The sixth untitled Pirates film would have wrapped up Jack’s story and concluded the franchise, which first sailed back in 2003.