Is Johnny Depp coming back as Jack Sparrow in a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie?

Rumours were perhaps the only consistent through the Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard libel lawsuit. As you likely remember, Depp won and Heard has been ordered to pay him millions of dollars in damages.

Many commentators had supposed that a victory for Depp would see him given the chance to return to big budget movies. He had been due to star in Fantastic Beast: The Secrets of Dumbledore and his lawyer claimed Depp lost the opportunity to star as Captain Jack Sparrow in an upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean film, production of which has been in limbo since 2018.

And now, just like the case, rumours abound that Depp is back as Captain Jack, for an eye-watering sum of $301 million. What is the truth to these claims made in Australian outlet poptopic?

Well, actually no.

A strong rebuttal

During the trial, Depp was adamant that he would not return to the Pirates franchise. Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn asked the actor, “The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?”

Depp replied, “That is true, Mr. Rottenborn.”

And think about the amount of money the outlet has reported he will be paid. $300 million is an impossible amount for a star whose light faded last decade. For context, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides cost an estimated $379 million to make. This would make casting Depp more than three-quarters of the budget.

Perhaps the most important poo-pooing of the rumour came from Depp’s team themselves. In a statement to NBC News, a representative for Depp responded to the rumor, stating, “This is made up.” So it looks like for now Captain Jack will languish in movie production hell, and Pirates will move on without him.

Margot Robbie is due to star in the sixth film in the franchise.