Jenna Ortega has a handful of projects in Hollywood and even decided to leave the Scream franchise when her salary increase demands were not met. Fans of the Wednesday actress were surprised to see her featured alongside Johnny Depp in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie trailer. While the franchise appears to be in shambles following Depp’s firing, one fan took it upon themselves to make a trailer featuring Ortega and Depp, possibly hoping to inspire Disney.
Disney fired the Black Mass actor from the Pirates franchise following Amber Heard’s public accusations of domestic abuse against him in 2018. During his defamation lawsuit in 2022, Depp slammed Disney’s decision to remove him before a verdict was reached in his domestic violence case, hinting that he would not return to the franchise.
Is Jenna Ortega Set To Appear In Pirates Of The Caribbean 6?
Fans would have seen images and videos of Jenna Ortega aboard the Black Pearl alongside Johnny Depp‘s Jack Sparrow on the internet. A ‘trailer‘ appeared for the sixth Pirates film on YouTube, titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Beyond the Horizon. Unfortunately for Jack Sparrow fans, the supposed trailer was created by a fan page, KH Studio. The impressive trailer deserves all the praise from Pirates fans, however, it is a highly unlikely scenario to happen.
In the fan-made trailer, Ortega’s character is Jack Sparrow’s daughter, joining him on a high-risk expedition. Also making an appearance in the trailer are Keira Knightley‘s Elizabeth Swann and Orlando Bloom‘s Will Turner. The fan used clips from the previous Pirates movies and a few cut-paste clips from other movies, alongside AI recreations of Ortega, Depp, Knightley, and Bloom. They have strived to meet the Hollywood standards for the trailer.
Depp and Ortega appear to share a weird ‘Tim Burton‘ movie energy, which might have inspired the fan to cast them as a father-daughter duo in this trailer. Depp is famously known for his collaborations with Tim Burton, while Ortega is set to star in Burton’s Beetlejuice sequel. Burton also served as a director and executive producer on Ortega’s hit series Wednesday.
While Disney and the Edward Scissorhands actor are at odds, a sixth installment in the franchise was greenlit by the studio without the character Jack Sparrow. However, the development of this project along with some other spinoff projects has been dragging due to several issues. The last update about the film came from The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin, who revealed pitching a “weird script” for the sixth film.
Disney’s Current Plans For A Pirates Movie Doesn’t Include Johnny Depp Or Jenna Ortega
The plan for a sixth installment in the Pirates series was revealed by producer Jerry Bruckheimer in 2017 after the release of Dead Men Tell No Tales. After the firing of Johnny Depp, Disney hired Craig Mazin and Ted Elliot to write the sixth film. Depp shared that he had no intention to return to the franchise after being fired unreasonably. However, Bruckheimer expressed an interest in bringing back the actor. Mazin revealed in 2023 that Disney had bought their script, stating to the LA Times:
“We pitched it and thought there’s no way they’re buying it, it’s too weird. And they did! And then he wrote a fantastic script and the strike happened and everyone’s waiting around.”
Disney announced a female-led spinoff in June 2020 starring Margot Robbie. Christina Hodson of Birds of Prey fame was hired to write the script. However, Robbie revealed to Vanity Fair that the project might not move forward as Disney didn’t want to do their pitch. Disney also had plans for a reboot featuring a younger cast. Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to plan out a screenplay, but they left the project in 2019 (via Deadline).
While the projects remain uncertain in the franchise, former stars Orlando Bloom, Brandon Thwaites, and Kaya Scodelario have expressed interest in returning to the franchise. All films in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise are now available for streaming on Disney+.
