Until we get a concrete confirmation or denial from Disney, fans are always going to retain hope that Johnny Depp will be invited back in some capacity for one of the two Pirates of the Caribbean movies in development, even if we’re rapidly approaching three years since he was dropped as Captain Jack Sparrow.
The Mouse House are clearly confident that the brand is strong enough to survive without the presence of its main character, most popular figure, and focal point of the marketing, but the jury remains out on that one. Even with Depp front and center, Dead Men Tell No Tales suffered a steep drop at the box office to become the lowest-grossing entry in the series since Curse of the Black Pearl fourteen years previously.
Dumping one of the 21st Century’s most iconic characters when there are still so many question marks surrounding the long term viability of Pirates of the Caribbean is a bold decision. In a new interview, star Greg Ellis, who played Lieutenant Theodore Groves in three of the first five installments and remains friends with Depp to this day, thinks the actor is deserving of at least a cameo appearance.
I think for Pirates 6, in an ideal world, every character who the fans have fallen in love with will be able to come back to kind of wrap everything up. Ultimately it comes down to screenplay and story. If Jack Sparrow isn’t a key, if not the key element, to wrapping up a multi-billion dollar franchise, is it not akin to not having Captain Kirk in Star Trek? Do I think he’s going to come back? Yes. To what degree, I’m not sure. There’s this reputation savaging that’s going on, this victimhood culture where victimhood is the new social currency and its economy is booming, and it’s been inflated.”
While his Star Trek comparison isn’t ideal when you consider Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard headlined several entries in the sci-fi series without a Shatner in sight, you understand what he’s getting at. Most big name properties are in a perpetual state of reinvention, and while the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars will thrive regardless of who appears on screen, the same arguably can’t be said of Pirates of the Caribbean given how intrinsic Captain Jack has been to the entire operation since the beginning.
