Captain Jack Sparrow might not be done sailing just yet. Johnny Depp has opened up about a possible return in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and he has made it clear there is one thing he wants out of it: a proper goodbye.
“Send Them Off on a Better Note”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight while promoting his new film Ebenezer, Depp stopped short of confirming he has signed on. Instead, he explained what would bring him back. “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,” he said.
He also made it clear that his loyalty lies with longtime producer Jerry Bruckheimer. “I will go to work with Bruckheimer tomorrow for anything,” Depp said. “If it’s Jerry, I trust him. We have a deep friendship.”
It All Comes Down to the Script
Bruckheimer has been hopeful for a while. Back in 2025 he said he had spoken with Depp and believed the actor would return “if he likes the way the part’s written,” adding that the team was still working on the screenplay and was “close” to getting it right.
Depp headlined five Pirates films between 2003 and 2017, which grossed a combined $4.5 billion worldwide, with Dead Man’s Chest and On Stranger Tides both passing $1 billion. His future with the Disney franchise has been uncertain since his legal battles and the 2022 trial against Amber Heard, but this month he is staging a big-screen comeback with Paramount’s holiday film Ebenezer.
Disney has not announced a cast or release date for a sixth film. But for the first time in years, the door to the Black Pearl looks wide open.