Former Disney executive believes fans could see Johnny Depp reprise his role as

A former Disney executive said Johnny Depp may be called to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow as fans have a ‘huge appetite’ to see it happen. 

The former executive, who was not named, told People he thought Depp, 58, may return as the swashbuckling rogue pirate, because of the promise of a huge potential payday for everyone involved.

‘I absolutely believe post-verdict that Pirates is primed for rebooting with Johnny as Captain Jack back on board,’ the executive told People. ‘There is just too much potential box-office treasure for a beloved character deeply embedded in the Disney culture.’ 

The former Disney insider predicted that after the huge success of Paramount Pictures’ ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ Disney would be looking to bring back their own beloved franchise.

‘There is [a] huge appetite for bringing back bankable Hollywood stars in massively popular franchises,’ the executive told People. 

Despite the insider’s confidence that Disney could bring back the franchise, he’s not too sure the actor would be up for it. 

A former Disney executive believes Johnny Depp (left, in character, with Orlando Bloom on right) could reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise as there is a ‘huge appetite’ from fans and from Disney to ‘bring back bankable Hollywood stars’ 

Depp testified in court that he didn’t plan on reprising his role as Sparrow due to feeling like he was ‘guilty until proven innocent’ by Disney executives

During his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, the actor told the jury he would not work with Disney again after he was scrubbed from the sixth Pirates movie.

His legal team claims Depp lost out on a $22 million payday after Heard published her Washington Post op-ed in 2018 that didn’t identify Depp, but clearly branded him as a domestic abuser.

Depp said he felt as if he was ‘guilty until proven innocent’ with Disney executives. 

Though his former agent testified in court that it was actually Depp’s ‘unprofessional behavior,’ which caused studios to be ‘reluctant’ to hire him. 

Depp also had to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Harry Potter franchise after losing his UK libel suit against The Sun, which he sued for labeling him a ‘wife-beater.’ 

‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ would go on to be the worst-performing movie in the franchise. 

A different insider, who had previous worked on Pirates sets, told People that he didn’t ‘believe’ Depp would pass up on the role if offered due to ‘his money troubles’ and the fact that Pirates is a ‘billion-dollar global franchise.’

The actor sued his ex-wife Amber Heard (pictured) for defamation after she published a 2018 op-ed saying she was abused 

A Hollywood agent believes Depp’s career will ‘flourish’ as his fans are ‘very loyal and vocal and all know he is far from perfect’ (pictured: Depp waving to fans outside the courthouse)

Super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer told the Sunday Times in May that producers were ‘developing two Pirates scripts’ that did not involve Depp. 

Bruckheimer said Depp was ‘not at this point’ cast in the role of Jack Sparrow, but the ‘future is yet to be decided.’ 

Actress Margot Robbie, 31, is rumored to be under consideration for her star turn in the franchise.

The unnamed insider told People that a seventh movie would ‘likely’ be released in 2025 and they believed producers would ‘make Robbie [Depp’s] daughter and likely have a cameo of him as a test.’ 

Lastly, a Hollywood agent told People he believed Depp’s career would ‘flourish,’ despite the messy public trial.

‘His fans are very loyal and vocal and all know he is far from perfect,’ the agent told People. 

Depp appears in the cast list when one searches ‘Beetlejuice 2’ in Google. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder starred in the original Beetlejuice film in 1988

Depp said he the jury ‘gave me my life back’ after winning the blockbuster trial against his ex-wife. 

‘Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed.’

‘And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled,’ he wrote in a statement.

Whether Jack Sparrow sees the big screen again or not, rumors have been swirling that Depp may be cast in Tim Burton’s long-rumored sequel to ‘Bettlejuice.’

Depp, who has not been in a major movie since 2018, now appears in the cast list for ‘Bettlejuice 2’ alongside stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, in Google searches for the movie.

The film’s IMDB page has also recently been updated with a synopsis and release date of 2025. 

In February, Deadline fueled speculation that the film franchise would be revitalized after reporting that Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, would be helming the project, and saying that it was in early development at Warner Bros.