The actor behind Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Johnny Depp, is Now in the middle of a very public libel case against Sunlight. Depp is suing the news outlet for defamation because it released an article calling him a”wife-beater,” despite evidence to the contrary.
The publicity surrounding the case has attracted Disney to shy away from Depp, as is evident from the fact that it has two distinct Pirates of the Caribbean movies in the wings which don’t have Johnny Depp — the surface of the franchise – included. Considering Depp’s situation, Disney’s decision has caused many Pirates fans to talk out on his behalf, and now one of Depp’s co-stars, Greg Ellis, has joined the fray.
Greg Ellis played Lieutenant Commander Theodore Groves in three of the five Pirates of the Caribbean films: Curse of the Black Pearl, At World’s End, and On Stranger Tides. Groves was the second-in-command into the first three movies’ most important authorities baddie, Lord Cutler Beckett. Groves seemingly died in Stranger Tides when he got shot attempting to assert the Fountain of Youth to the British.
While discussing his new podcast known as the Respondent, Ellis asserted that it’d”be strange” for the Pirates franchise to only reboot without finishing Captain Jack’s story and acknowledging Johnny Depp — who’s carried this far. Ellis compared the situation to not having Captain Kirk look at a Star Trek movie. For him, in an ideal world, Disney would, in the very least, bring back and wrap up Captain Jack’s story, and those of some other fan-favourite personalities before restarting the series.
All that said, Ellis is not against Margot Robbie’s forthcoming Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off. He believes that if it”begins and ends with a narrative,” and requires care to honour the legacy of the franchise, then he is all to it. As it stands today, however, Margot Robbie’s film is fighting just to get permission to add an easter egg or nod to Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow.
At the moment, Johnny Depp’s future with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is uncertain. But he does appear to have fan support on his side, and some Disney bosses are seemingly lobbying for him to make a full return to the franchise considering what’s happened in the libel case up to now. The two Margot Robbie’s Pirates and Ted Elliott’s – that the original writer’s – reboot remain early in development, so the possibility for Depp to reunite exists.