Disney Promises Depp In Pirates 4

Yesterday we posted that Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp may not be coming back after the upcoming Pirates 4. A tip from Cinemablend said that even if Depp came back for Pirates 4 (and it was an “if” at the time), it would be his last performance as Captain Jack Sparrow within the successful Pirates franchise.

After Disney Chairman Dick Cook stepped down from his position recently, Depp gave some rather cryptic comments on his returning to the Pirates franchise, as he had a good working relationship with Cook. Depp said that his enthusiasm for the franchise had wavered since Cook stepped down, and this put doubt in fans’ minds over whether we would see him reprise his famous pirate role. However, today we get word – again from Cinemablend – that Disney has promised that Depp will once again play Captain Jack in the fourth movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Cinemablend say they’ve spoken with a Disney rep who assures them that Depp’s commitment to Pirates 4 has not wavered one bit (I assume the rep means in lieu of Cook’s departure). As for any movies following the upcoming fourth, the rep couldn’t speak on them – not “couldn’t” as in “not allowed to,” but rather “couldn’t” as in “not able to because he doesn’t know.” Apparently nothing beyond On Stranger Tides has been greenlit yet, and it would be rather silly for any reps to publicly speculate at this point. As for the possibility of a new character being brought in to replace Captain Jack, the rep says they’re not even thinking about that at this point.

Cinemablend reminds us that this should all be classified as rumors, as no official press releases have been put out to officially let us know what’s going on. But the info sounds believable to me, and I suspect we will see Depp ultimate play Captain Jack at least one more time in Pirates 4. It’ll be interesting to see what happens beyond that point, though: Will Depp come back for 5 and 6? If not, will Disney recast him or bring in a new character altogether? Until we get some solid confirmations, all we can do is speculate…

Are you glad that Depp is apparently coming back for Pirates 4? Obviously the best situation for the good of the franchise is that he does more after that, but what would you like to see happen if Depp walked away after the next installment?

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is supposed to start filming next Spring, and has a general release date of Summer 2011.

Source: Cinemablend