A sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie is definitely happening with or without Johnny Depp’s involvement, although the actor’s future has started to look a whole lot more positive given that public support has swung massively in his favor during his messy divorce battle with Amber Heard, along with the outrage from fans that Disney were dropping the most popular character from one of their biggest franchises.
There’ve been reports that Captain Jack Sparrow could be set to return in a small cameo, in order to provide some connective tissue to the previous movies while also passing the torch onto the next generation of swashbuckling heroes, but at the moment, the plan is still for the reboot to focus on a female pirate as the series’ new lead.
While fans can launch as many petitions as they want trying to force Disney’s hand in hopes of getting Depp back on board, the final decision ultimately rests in the studio’s lap. And though there’s been no confirmation just yet on what they’ll decide to do, we’ve now heard that the Mouse House are eying another one of the stars that made them billions of dollars at the box office to play a supporting role.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us Karen Gillan is the top choice for the lead in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and that National Treasure 3 and Aladdin 2 are in development, all of which were correct – Disney are interested in having Robert Downey Jr. appear in the soft reboot. However, it wouldn’t be in one of the main roles.
From what we understand, RDJ has reportedly been offered a small part as one of the captains in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, with the supporting role said to be one of comic relief and something fun and different for the actor to sink his teeth into. And while it remains to be seen if he’ll sign on, if Disney do end up leaving Johnny Depp out of the latest installment, then having another one of their icons show up to play a similarly-eccentric captain would no doubt help soften the blow among the fanbase.
