Johnny Depp in Talks for ‘Pirates 6,’ Bruckheimer Confirms

Jack Sparrow Might Finally Be Coming Back

For nearly a decade, the surest way to break a Pirates of the Caribbean fan’s heart was to ask about a sixth movie. The franchise has been sitting at port since 2017, and Johnny Depp’s messy, public split from Disney made a return feel borderline impossible. Then, in one 30-second carpet interview at D23, producer Jerry Bruckheimer changed the conversation entirely.

“We’re talking with Johnny [Depp], we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,” Bruckheimer told Deadline on the red carpet at Disney’s annual fan expo. It’s the closest anyone has come to confirming that Captain Jack Sparrow will sail again — and the internet, predictably, lost its mind.

What Bruckheimer Actually Said

The quote is short, but every word matters. “We’re talking to Johnny. We’re working on a screenplay. Hopefully we can get this done.” That’s Bruckheimer — the producer behind the entire Pirates franchise, as well as Top Gun, Bad Boys and National Treasure — confirming that conversations with Depp are happening right now, and that a screenplay for the next installment is actively in development.

It’s a stunning flip from where things stood in 2022. When The Sunday Times asked Bruckheimer whether Depp could ever return to Pirates, his answer was blunt: “Not at this point,” before adding that “the future is yet to be decided.” Four years later, the future has apparently arrived.

The Margot Robbie Twist

Here’s the part that changes everything about what Pirates 6 will look like. Separate from Bruckheimer’s interview, sources told Deadline that the continuation won’t feel like just another Captain Jack adventure. Instead, the next chapter is expected to focus on Margot Robbie’s protagonist, with Jack Sparrow operating as a side character — an evolution of the franchise rather than a replay of it.

That tracks with years of development noise. In September 2025, Bruckheimer confirmed to TheWrap that Robbie was circling the project, and revealed that producers had developed two scripts at one point. Before that, Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were initially attached, and later reports had Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott — the writer of the original trilogy — taking over duties. Nobody has been able to land the right combination until now, apparently.

The idea of Robbie’s character carrying the franchise while Sparrow pops in and out is smart on paper. Robbie proved she can anchor a blockbuster universe in Barbie, and she was briefly attached to a standalone Pirates spinoff years ago that never made it to production. If Pirates 6 finally gives her that spotlight, with Depp as the spice rather than the main dish, it could appeal to both nostalgic fans and a younger audience.

A Franchise Worth Relaunching

Let’s talk numbers, because they explain why Disney is suddenly motivated. Through five movies, the Pirates franchise has minted roughly $4.5 billion at the global box office. Even the “disappointing” entry — 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, the lowest grosser of the series — still pulled in $795.9 million worldwide. That’s not a dead franchise. That’s a very expensive property that studios are terrified to mess up.

The original Pirates of the Caribbean saga peaked with the blockbuster sequels that dominated the late 2000s. The Curse of the Black Pearl, the 2003 original, was the movie that turned Depp from respected character actor into a genuine marquee star, earning him an Oscar nomination for best actor in the process. Few roles in modern blockbuster history are as tied to one performer as Jack Sparrow is to Depp.

Depp’s Road Back

This news lands weeks after Depp’s high-profile, in-character appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, where he showed up as Ebenezer Scrooge. That was promotion for Ebenezer, his big-budget Christmas Carol take that Paramount is releasing in November — a project Depp has been openly serious about. He’s also attached to Lionsgate’s thriller Day Drinker for 2027.

In other words, Depp is already back to working with major studios. The 2022 defamation verdict in his favor against ex-wife Amber Heard — a case that both parties later settled on appeal — reopened Hollywood’s doors, and his exit from the Fantastic Beasts franchise in 2020 is firmly in the rearview mirror. For fans, the real question was never whether Depp could work again. It was whether Disney would ever want him back. This week at D23, they all but admitted they do.

If you want to see the Grindelwald era that ended Depp’s time at Warner Bros., Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the entry where he fully took over the role. For a reminder of how good Depp is in this exact register, Edward Scissorhands remains the gold standard of his Tim Burton collaborations.

What Happens Next

Realistically, don’t expect Pirates 6 in theaters tomorrow. There’s no release date, no director announced, and a screenplay that is still, by Bruckheimer’s own telling, being written. But “we’re working on a screenplay” is a meaningful step up from “the future is yet to be decided.” Combined with Disney reportedly eyeing a monster 2028 slate, a movie like this suddenly makes sense as one of the studio’s crown-jewel tentpoles.

The other headache is money. Depp’s return won’t be cheap, and a spectacle-driven pirate movie with Robbie in the lead is not a budget-friendly proposition. Disney has burned billions on gambles that didn’t pay off, so nothing is guaranteed until cameras actually roll. But this is the most momentum the franchise has had in years, and the fan reaction at D23 was unmistakably loud.

Should You Care?

If you grew up on these movies, yes — this is the update you’ve been waiting for since 2017. The combination of Bruckheimer’s franchise instincts, Depp’s star power, and a Margot Robbie-led story that finally modernizes the concept is genuinely exciting. Pirates of the Caribbean was one of the last true movie-star franchises, and its return would be a big moment for the blockbuster era.

Unsurprisingly, the fan reaction split along familiar lines. For one camp, this is redemption — the return of a beloved character after a years-long absence, with comments under the Deadline story celebrating the news as a win. For another, it’s a corporate rethink they’d rather not see, with questions about whether Depp’s baggage is worth the ticket sales. Both reactions make sense, and honestly, the argument itself is proof of how much this franchise still matters culturally. People don’t argue this passionately about a property nobody wants back.

Whether it works depends on the screenplay, the director, and whether Disney and Depp can actually close a deal. But for the first time in a long time, the wind is blowing the right way. Keep an eye on D23 season — if more casting news drops, we’ll be right here covering it.

Sources: Deadline, TheWrap