A petition to get Johnny Depp back into Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has surpassed 560,000 signatures.
Depp told the courtroom that he would turn down acting in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 now, even if he was offered “$300 million.”
Due to the controversial allegations against Depp from his ex-wife Amber Heard, the decision to blackball the 58-year-old was reportedly to save the family-friendly reputation of Disney’s franchise.
Some ‘Pirates’ fans started an online petition to see Depp back on the silver screen playing the hilarious Captain once more. That petition has reached more than 560,000 signatures, at the time of writing.
Depp has played Captain Jack Sparrow in the franchise since 2003 when he appeared as the infamous marauder in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
The actor would go on to play Captain Jack in four additional hit movies and although much loved by fans all around the world, Disney made the decision to stop his return to any future projects, including a long-awaited sixth Pirates movie.
Variety reports that although fans would have been devastated about this decision, the iconic actor may not have returned to the silver screen as the loud mouth pirate anyways.
Amber Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, cross-examined Depp focusing on the actor’s claims that Heard’s op-ed cost him the role of Captain Jack. Rottenborn asked the actor if it was indeed true that Depp had no interest in returning to the franchise, he said:
“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.”
Heard’s legal team persevered in an attempt to show that Disney had already made the decision to stop Depp’s return before the actress wrote her op-ed in The Washington Post.
Depp launched a defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard in 2019, after the Aquaman star described herself as a victim of domestic abuse in a 2018 article she penned in The Washington Post. The trial started Monday 11 April in Fairfax, Virginia.
