Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Can Address Depp's Jack Sparrow Exit in Every Way

There are many ways for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 to work around Johnny Depp’s exit as the original Pirates of the Caribbean franchise anti-hero Jack Sparrow. Since 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl proved an unexpected sleeper hit, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been a massive moneymaker for Disney.

However, in 2017, the seemingly unstoppable series hit a snag when the Pirates of the Caribbean 5 as it earned the worst reviews of the series so far as well as underperforming at the box office.

The problems for The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise were compounded when series star Johnny Depp’s legal troubles led Disney to cut ties with him. While veteran Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that Depp may still return to the series at some point in the future, how this would be achieved is not yet clear.

What is clear is that a version of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is currently in production, and this project will need to address the absence of Depp’s Jack Sparrow. A supporting star in the original movie, throughout the sequels Depp became the de facto lead of the franchise.

Since Depp was the main character of both Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and 5, the most direct way for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 to get around his exit would be to reverse it. The Pirates of the Caribbean 5 ending set up another potential sequel starring Depp’s Sparrow and, now that Bruckheimer has suggested he would be open to Depp’s return, this could end up being how the franchise handles the issue. However, Depp’s return comes with a massive price tag. There were reports that Depp would have earned 22 million for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 before his 2022 trial.

Since his highly publicized exit from the series, Depp’s fee may have increased, and even if it hasnt the studio would be taking a gamble to bring back such a controversial actor.

Not only that, but Depp’s star power hasn’t been tested by a mainstream blockbuster in a long time, so it would be a big gamble to wager a massive portion of Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s budget on his appeal.

Finally, Pirates of the Caribbean’s worst sequels both focused on Depp’s Sparrow and suffered critically as a result, meaning viewers might not be enthused by the prospect of another Jack-centric sequel, but Depp’s sizable salary means he would need to be the lead.

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 could simply ignore the existence of Jack Sparrow, mentioning other characters, settings, and elements of the franchise’s canon without addressing his existence directly. This seems like the most likely route that the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot will take in its attempts to replace the franchise’s cast with younger actors.

However, this could prove ill-advised, as Depp is still very much the face of the franchise. The fact that Margot Robbie’s proposed Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff was canceled proves that the studio doesnt trust another A-lister with the series, so it could be foolhardy to trust a younger, less well-known cast.

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