‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Producer Pushing for Johnny Depp’s Return

I was recently toying with the idea of showing the first Pirates of the Caribbean film to my kids. They seem like they’re the right age for it. We were running around on some park equipment, and they wanted to pretend to be pirates and swing pretend swords. They’re also fans of spooky stuff, and while I haven’t seen it in a while, I think the skeletons will be right up their alley. Plus all of those big, real boats! All of that is to say, not once have I thought, “They’ll probably really like that drunk character, too!”

Now, I won’t pretend that they’ll hate Captain Jack Sparrow. I’m sure he’ll make a silly face or say something in a funny voice at some point or another that will get them. But that certainly won’t be a huge draw for them. It was for folks at the time. And hell, the performance certainly helped the films get and keep fans, and inspired Halloween costumes for some of the most obnoxious dudes you know. Still, a new movie could be made without the involvement of the character or the actor who plays him, and the world would keep on spinning just fine. However, we live in hell.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was recently asked about doing another Pirates of the Caribbean movie while at D23. Right off the bat, he looks like he was set up to drop this information, which sucks even more. There’s no way this question would have gotten to him at a Disney event unless he was prepared to give the answer he did, which makes the whole thing feel extra gross. “We’re talking with Johnny [Depp], we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,” Brukheimer revealed, according to Deadline, as if it would be impossible to do the film without Depp there.

What cracks me up the most is that Deadline claims sources made it clear to them that Depp would play second fiddle to the franchise’s new intended star: Margot Robbie. The mention feels fully intended to float the idea to the public to see what reaction it gets, hoping it will be positive enough to sway the star. I don’t know her and am just kinda guessing here, but I’d bet money she doesn’t want to be in a movie with a man whose reputation is rightfully in tatters after a prolonged legal battle that involved him being accused of abuse.

But, hey, I could be wrong. I’d love to think that Robbie would avoid him like the plague, but I’ve learned better than to put people on a pedestal. If Depp’s awful-looking Scrooge movie does well and the public welcomes him back with open arms, as they’ve done with so many terrible men before, Robbie could decide that it’s worth the potential few days of bad headlines. And her deciding to join a film with Depp would do wonders for his image, so I’m sure he’s doing everything in his power to make it happen.

It sucks. Someone like Depp shouldn’t be able to just waltz back into things like this like some kind of Prodigal Son. It’s more than annoying that his career spans so many films and eras that it’s not like we can erase him from things, nor deny the hard work other people put into those older films. I’ll be damned if I’m going to stop watching Sleepy Hollow! But, dammit, let him slither off and shrivel up; don’t give him a platform that lets him do cutesy little Comic Con appearances.

I’ll just show my kids The Princess Bride instead. That’s got pirates and sword fighting (though a bit more blood than my wife would like).