Johnny Depp is in talks to return as Captain Jack Sparrow in a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer has not announced a deal or confirmed that the actor has joined the cast.
Bruckheimer gave the update during a red-carpet interview at Disney’s D23 event on Sunday, Aug. 16. “We’re talking with Johnny, we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,” he told Deadline.
Even if Depp returns, the new movie would not necessarily restore Jack Sparrow as the franchise’s central character. Sources told Deadline that the developing continuation is expected to focus on a protagonist played by Margot Robbie, with Sparrow appearing as a supporting character.
Depp’s representatives and Disney also did not respond when TheWrap requested comment following Bruckheimer’s interview.
The Latest Update Stops Short of Confirming Depp’s Return
Jerry Bruckheimer reveals conversations have been had with Johnny Depp about returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ | #D23 pic.twitter.com/52iJn7apD1
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 16, 2026
“We’re talking with Johnny,” the producer said, while emphasizing that work on the screenplay also remains underway. Bruckheimer gave a similar update one year earlier. In an August 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said he had spoken with Depp and believed the actor would participate “if he likes the way the part’s written.”
At the time, Bruckheimer said the production was getting close to the screenplay it needed but had not reached that point yet. A year later, the script is still being developed and Depp is still in discussions rather than officially attached.
A return would also mark a substantial change from Depp’s position during his 2022 defamation trial against Amber Heard. During cross-examination, Heard’s attorney asked whether even an offer of “$300 million and a million alpacas” would fail to persuade him to work with Disney on another Pirates film. Depp agreed, explaining that he had felt betrayed by the studio.
Deadline Says Margot Robbie Would Lead the Next Chapter
Sources told Deadline that the next film is not being developed simply as another Jack Sparrow adventure. Instead, the current plan centers on Robbie’s protagonist, with Sparrow appearing as a supporting character in what the trade described as an evolution of the franchise.
That approach follows years of shifting plans for Pirates. In 2024, Bruckheimer said Disney was pursuing two separate projects. A reboot written by Jeff Nathanson and another movie built around Robbie, whose version had been developed with screenwriter Christina Hodson.
The situation had changed by September 2025. Bruckheimer told TheWrap that the producers had once been working with two scripts but one had dropped out, while confirming that Robbie was “still involved” in the version moving forward. No other returning Pirates cast members have been formally announced.
Jack Sparrow Has Been Absent From Theaters Since 2017
Depp first played Sparrow in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and transformed the eccentric pirate into the defining character of the film series.
He returned for four sequels, most recently 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The fifth movie earned approximately $795 million worldwide. Across the five films, the franchise has generated more than $4.5 billion at the global box office.
Bruckheimer has consistently said that he would like to see Depp return even as the filmmakers rethink the franchise around new characters. In 2025, he called the proposed sixth installment a reboot but said that if the decision were entirely his, Depp would be part of it.
Depp Already Has a Major Studio Return Coming This Fall
Whatever happens with Pirates, Depp already has another major studio release scheduled. He stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West. Paramount’s official 2026 slate announcement says the film will open theatrically on Nov. 13.
Depp appeared at CinemaCon earlier this year to introduce footage from the movie, and he has since promoted the project publicly in character as Scrooge.