Johnny Depp says he'd return as Jack Sparrow to give Pirates franchise a better ending

Johnny Depp has broken his silence on 'Pirates of the Caribbean 6,' saying he would consider returning as Captain Jack Sparrow — but with a specific purpose in mind: giving a franchise he loves a proper farewell.

If things are exactly where they need to be with regard to how they are going to top off the 'Pirates' franchise… the only involvement I really want to have, truly, is just to send them off on a better note.— Johnny Depp, actor

Depp made the comments to Entertainment Tonight during the press tour for 'Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol,' his return to a major Hollywood studio film after years away from the spotlight following his highly publicized legal dispute with ex-wife Amber Heard. He stopped short of any confirmation that he has actually signed on for a sixth installment.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer — who has a credit on all five franchise entries — was the other condition Depp put forward.

I'll go to work with Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything. Doesn't matter, if it's Jerry. I trust him, and we have deep friendship.— Johnny Depp, actor

Bruckheimer has been publicly pushing for Depp's return. At Disney's D23 fan event in August, he told Deadline, according to CBR: "We're talking with Johnny, we're working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done." He struck a similarly upbeat tone in summer 2025, telling Entertainment Weekly that Depp would likely agree if the role were written to his satisfaction, while acknowledging that the script still needed work: "We are still working on a screenplay. We want to make it. We just got to get the right screenplay. We haven't quite gotten there yet, but we're close." In 2024, Bruckheimer described the new film as a reboot while adding: "It's a reboot, but if it was up to me, Johnny would be in it." Jeff Nathanson, who wrote 'Dead Men Tell No Tales,' is working on the script, according to Gulf News.

No cast or release date for a new Pirates film has been announced by Disney. The franchise's trajectory has been complicated: the fourth entry, 'On Stranger Tides,' and the fifth, 'Dead Men Tell No Tales,' were both critically panned compared to the original trilogy, according to The Wrap. Disney also explored a female-led reboot with Margot Robbie around 2020, but Robbie said in 2022 that Disney was no longer interested in that direction, according to Gulf News.

In the Ti West-directed, Paramount-backed 'Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol,' Depp takes on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in a fresh adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic story. The cast includes Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Daisy Ridley, and Sam Claflin, according to Gulf News. A role in the Lionsgate thriller 'Day Drinker,' expected in 2028, is also on Depp's schedule.

Depp's path back to Hollywood was shaped by his 2022 defamation trial against Heard. According to Gulf News, a US jury determined both that Heard had defamed Depp in a Washington Post op-ed and that Depp had defamed Heard.

Why it matters — After years of legal battles and Hollywood uncertainty, Depp's public openness to returning as one of cinema's most recognizable characters — combined with Bruckheimer's active pursuit — signals that Pirates 6 is closer to reality than it has been in years, though no deal is done.

Reported by variety.com, thewrap.com, gulfnews.com, cbr.com