Jerry Bruckheimer Says Johnny Depp Will Not Be Playing Jack Sparrow Again ‘at This Point’

thewrap.com:

The Sunday Times.“Not at this point,” he said when asked about Depp. “The future is yet to be decided.”Instead, the 78-year-old Bruckheimer said he’s trying to rebuild the nearly two-decades-old “Pirates” franchise around a new protagonist, ideally played by Margot Robbie. “We’re developing two ‘Pirates’ scripts.

One with her, one without,” he said. Bruckheimer’s comments come a few weeks after Depp was asked on the stand during his highly-publicized court case against ex-girlfriend Amber Heard whether it was correct that “nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film.” Depp said yes, revealing publicly that he was done playing his most commercially successful role.

Depp’s talent manager testified that the actor lost a $22.5 million deal for a sixth “Pirates” film after Heard’s op-ed accusing him of domestic abuse was published.Depp’s run as Captain Jack came during a time when American movie franchises were still driven by top actors as opposed to the IP-driven market fueled by the dominance of superhero films over the past decade.

But Bruckheimer says that even in this new normal, “Marvel and DC still want a really strong actor.”“I still get the same list of ten men the studios want in a movie.