Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp have been friends for decades, dating back to when the two actors were up-and-coming Hollywood stars and notorious hell-raisers. Following his long-running, highly-protracted and very messy divorce from ex-wife Amber Heard taking place in the public eye though, Depp has seen his personal and professional reputation take a battering over the last few years.
While recent revelations may have had public opinion swing firmly in his favor, the 57 year-old was still dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and despite rumors that he could be set for a return, Jack Sparrow hasn’t been confirmed to be involved in either of the new movies that are in development and the fans are not happy about it.
Outside of his personal troubles, with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean‘s consistent box office success, Depp’s star has also faded dramatically after a string of critical and commercial failures, and a new rumor claims that so few gigs are coming his way that he’s “begged” Downey Jr. to help him out. Apparently, the Iron Man star has responded in kind and now offered him a role in Sherlock Holmes 3.
Of course, Downey Jr. knows exactly how it feels to hit rock bottom, with a series of drug-related arrests seeming to have torpedoed his entire career before the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe rocketed him to the very top of the A-list, so you can understand why he’d be more than happy to help out his longtime friend.
There’s still a chance the actor could be brought back as Jack Sparrow if even for a cameo, of course, and despite The Crimes of Grindelwald being a huge disappointment, Fantastic Beasts is still a major franchise. But if Johnny Depp can channel his mid-90s heyday as independent cinema’s eccentric golden boy, then he’d be a great fit to join the steampunk-influenced world of RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes series.
