Johnny Depp might be given a chance to reprise his Captain Jack Sparrow role again soon.
A new report suggested that Disney executives are now in talks to reconsider bringing back Johnny Depp to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise again.
According to Express UK, the House of Mouse added an option to possibly re-cast Depp as the lead pirate.
Per the news outlets, the online petition that asks for his return triggered the company to make such a move.
“Rumours are rife that the Change.org petitions have forced the makers to reconsider,” Express UK confirmed.
Initially, he lost the role after his legal showdown against The Sun ruled out in favor of the British newspaper.
The lawsuit saw him defending his name after an article about him being an alleged wife-beater during his marriage with Amber Heard emerged.
Prior to this news, Daniel Richtman of We Got This Covered revealed that one of the hit franchise’s producers personally wants him back.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer reportedly did not want to lose Depp despite the talks that Disney refused to hire the actor again.
Per Richtman, Bruckheimer aims to cast him regardless of the screen time he would receive as Captain Sparrow.
People want Depp back
As of the writing, the change.org petition in question is a few thousand away from its half a million signatures goal.
Riza Siddiqui, the creator of the petition, addressed it to Bruckheimer and The Walt Disney Company.
“Don’t they know that without Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow they will sink, they will never be able to reach that horizon,” a part of the description says.
Indeed, Disney received more than a billion since Depp landed on the role in 2003.
For 15 years, Depp appeared in five installments. Box Office Mojo also estimates that the whole “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise earned over a billion.
The first movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, debuted with $305,413,918 lifetime gross sales.
Meanwhile, the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales did not enjoy the same milestone. It then became the lowest-performing chapter so far.
Amid these talks, it has been confirmed that Disney is also preparing to create spinoff versions. Jumanji actress Karen Gillan and Margot Robbie are currently connected to the said plans.
Gillan might lead the soft reboot and play Redd’s role. For Robbie’s part, she reportedly wants her character to be queer.
Featured image courtesy of NJM2010, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons