The Pirates Of The Caribbean Reboot Is Tossing Johnny Depp Overboard

It looks as though the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot is making Johnny Depp walk the plank. Drink up me hearties, yo ho.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Disney producer Sean Bailey has confirmed that Johnny Depp will not return to play the worst pirate you have ever heard of in the currently in development Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.

To be clear, Bailey didn’t specifically state that Depp had been dropped. However, when asked by reporter Pamela McClintock whether the Pirates of the Caribbean series could “survive without Johnny Depp”, Bailey replied that Disney “want to bring in a new energy and vitality”.

“I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants,” said Bailey. “And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.” Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are the scriptwriters working on the reboot. They are longtime collaborators, and previously worked together on films such as Zombieland, Deadpools 1 and 2, and Life.

The original Pirates of the Carribbean film series began in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and was based on an animatronic-based Disneyland ride. In the five film series, Depp played inept pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. There’s no word yet as to whether Sparrow will return, or if the reboot will follow a different cast of characters altogether.

News of the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot was first reported by Deadline at the end of October, with Jerry Bruckheimer still attached to produce. Though at the time Curse of the Black Pearl screenwriter Stuart Beattie implied to the Daily Mail that Depp would not return, Beattie had not directly worked on the franchise since the first film. Before now, there was little in the way of official confirmation regarding potentially exiting cast members.

Depp became the subject of controversy in 2016 after his then-wife Amber Heard accused him of emotional and physical abuse and filed for divorce. Depp was also sued for assault by a separate party this July. Due to these circumstances, there were many who were unhappy with Depp’s casting as dark wizard Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them series. Whether this had anything to do with his exclusion from the Pirates reboot unclear, but in any case, the 15-year-old series could use some revitalising.