Depp's potential return in Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is doubtful

While Pirates of the Caribbean 6 might be happening sometime soon, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s comments on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise’s return don’t bode well for the likelihood of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow comeback. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been stuck in a quagmire for some time now

Ever since 2017’s fifth movie Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales underperformed financially and earned the worst reviews of the series so far, the future plans for the franchise have been unclear.

Although Pirates of the Caribbean 5’s post-credits scene set up a perfect hook for a potential sequel, the underwhelming box office performance and abominable reviews that Dead Men Tell No Tales received ensured that this project was soon dead in the water. In the years since the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise dropped its famous leading man, Johnny Depp, from the role of Jack Sparrow thanks to the actor’s highly publicized legal troubles.

However, veteran blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently indicated that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 will happen soon, although his comments might not be so promising when it comes to the prospect of Depp’s return.

Per the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise’s legendary super-producer Bruckheimer, the series is pursuing a version of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 with a “younger cast.” While Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean 6 comments did not see him veto the prospect of Depp’s return as Jack Sparrow, the fact the franchise is actively pursuing a new, younger set of stars doesn’t bode well for Jack Sparrow’s potential comeback for numerous reasons. For one thing, a new cast full of bright young things will cost money, and Depp’s record-setting price tag accounted for a huge chunk of both the fourth and fifth Pirates of the Caribbean sequels’ casting budgets.

Not only would there be little money left over for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 to invest in new stars if the sequel needed to offer Depp as much as a rumored 22 million for his role, but there is also another issue with bringing back Sparrow. Judging by his “younger cast” comments, Bruckheimer wants to reinvent the Pirates of the Caribbean series for a new generation of viewers.

Jungle Cruise failed to replace Pirates of the Caribbean at the box office, so now the creators of the series are hoping to reboot the franchise and remind viewers how fun its fictional universe is. However, fans won’t get excited about new cast members if they’re simply waiting for Jack’s arrival.

The Pirates of the Caribbean series could try to get the best of both worlds by pairing the franchise veteran Depp with a few new young stars in Pirates of the Caribbean 6. The problem is, the franchise already tried this twice, with the woeful fourth and fifth movies.

While the fourth movie On Stranger Tides was critically disliked, Dead Men Tell No Tales was both a critical and commercial under-performer, which is the kiss of death for a blockbuster series. As such, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise can’t try this same approach again.

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 might bring back Depps Jack Sparrow if his appearance is a brief cameo in the tradition of the Star Wars sequels or Scream 2022 rather than a lead role like Top Gun Mavericks franchise revival. The presence of the troubled star may well overshadow the appeal of the sequel, but on the plus side, it will certainly bring in a lot of publicity for the picture. The iconic antihero from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise can only return in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 if he is not the films centrepiece and only star, but it is unclear whether the filmmakers are aware of this.