These past few years have been quite tumultuous for Johnny Depp, to say the least. As his divorce with actor Amber Heard became public, the tempestuous affair took an ugly turn as Depp was accused of being an abusive partner in the relationship. Though further evidence presented by Depp did convince many that Heard was equally abusive, the damage was done as Johnny Depp was asked by Warner Bros. to step down from the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and his any future involvement with Pirates of the Caribbean was effectively blocked by Disney, to the dismay of many fans.
Related: Johnny Depp V Amber Heard: How The Judge Ruled In All 14 Abuse Allegations
As Disney is now producing a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, actor Kevin McNally, who plays the role of Joshamee Gibbs in the franchise has revealed his thoughts regarding Disney’s actions against Depp. The veteran actor has been quite vocal about Depp being included in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Speaking to fellow Pirates co-star Greg Ellis on his podcast The Respondent, McNally stated that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 should still include Depp as Jack Sparrow. McNally stated it would be “criminal” to throw away what Depp had built up over the last five films, arguing that the actor created a “modern legend” through his portrayal as Sparrow.
As one of the most successful franchises in recent history, the global popularity of the movies can mostly be attributed to Johnny Depp for his unforgettable portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. Though the upcoming movie is set to have a bunch of new characters, McNally still believes that even a cameo from Johnny Depp should be considered by the studio. When asked if Depp should be in the movie, McNally said the following:
“Yes is the simple answer to that. My feelings about this are very complex because in a sense there was a slight feeling that the franchise itself had played out a little bit, so a reboot is a reasonable idea. I don’t think a reboot, if you concentrate on younger characters, should still exclude Jack Sparrow.”
Having earned over $4.5 billion in revenue from the movies, Pirates of the Caribbean is a massive franchise that Disney has no plans of letting go of at any time soon. As reports of rebooting the movies have been circulating, Disney is currently eyeing Karen Gillan to play the lead role with Joachim Rønning confirmed to direct. The studio is also reportedly producing a spin-off with Margot Robbie in the lead role with Christina Hodson of Birds of Prey set to write the screenplay.
While Johnny Depp has unarguably the face of the franchise, many fans also believe that the actor has been overused to compensate for the declining quality of the subsequent movies. Though a fresh change is what Pirates of the Caribbean sorely needs, it can’t be denied that the franchise will have a hard time to be accepted by the fans without the eccentric and irreverent Captain Jack Sparrow.
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