Margot Robbie to replace Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 6? Here's what we know

Ever since the legal sparring has begun between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the former had been removed from several big-budget films including Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. Now, producer Jack Bruckheimer, during his latest interaction with The Sunday Times, opened up about the future of the sixth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. While doing so, he revealed that actor Margot Robbie is in talks to replace Johnny Depp as the film's lead.

Margot Robbie to headline Pirates of the Caribbean 6?

Producer Bruckheimer, during his interaction, stated that the makers are currently developing two screenplays, one that includes Margot Robbie in the lead role and another that doesn't.

Hence, it is not yet confirmed if Robbie will be seen essaying the lead role in the upcoming instalment. Moreover, the details of her character are also kept under wraps as yet. While confirming the speculations of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 having a female lead, Bruckheimer said "Yes. We’re talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts, one with her, one without."

Is there a possibility of Johnny Depp's return?

During the same interaction, when asked about Johnny Depp's possible return as Captain Jack Sparrow, Bruckheimer confirmed at the time there appears no chance of the actor's return. However, he further added that the future of the sixth instalment is undecided yet. Bruckheimer said, "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided." 

It is also important to note that Johnny Depp during his ongoing defamation trial in a Virginia courtroom confirmed that he will not collaborate with Disney for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 in the future. During his Virginia trial testimony, Depp admitted Disney wanted to cut ties with him, even before Amber Heard's op-ed was published in the Washington Post, as per Variety. In addition to this, Depp added that he will not return to playing the iconic Jack Sparrow, even if the giant offers him millions of money.

During his cross-examination on the stand, when Heard's attorney asked him about his ouster from 'Pirates of Caribbean', Depp reportedly testified that it didn't surprise him. He said, "I wasn’t aware of that, but it doesn’t surprise me. Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife-beater. So I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point."

Heard's attorney later questioned if he would return to Disney for Pirates 6 if the giant offers him millions after removing him. The attorney stated, "The fact is, Mr Depp if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film? Correct?" To this Depp reportedly answered, "That is true, Mr Rottenborn."

Apart from the Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp previously confirmed that he was asked to resign from playing Grindewald in the famous Harry Potter spin-off film series 'Fantastic Beasts'. Johnny Depp has been absent on the big screens ever since essaying the role of W. Eugene Smith in the 2020 released film Minamata.

Image: Instagram/@jacksparrowdaily/@margotrobbieofficial