It’s been years since Johnny Depp has appeared in a major Hollywood movie, but it looks like he’s trying to make a comeback. He’s set to appear in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, which comes out later this year, and now, it’s possible that he will return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Jack Sparrow.
Depp has tried to say that his ex-wife’s op-ed about domestic abuse had a negative impact on his career and led to him losing roles. In 2022, he and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, were involved in a highly publicized defamation trial. Some of his critics, however, have long argued that he ruined his career all by himself. Now, though, his efforts to revive it seem to be fruitful.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said he’s talking to Depp about the next “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.
Johnny Depp is officially in talks to star in ‘PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 6’.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 16, 2026
“We’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done.”
(https://t.co/TeBnBrUYph) pic.twitter.com/ltkFZBT6kk
At D23, the producer spoke to Deadline about how he’s trying to make Pirates of the Caribbean 6 happen. “We’re talking with Johnny, we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done,” Bruckheimer said.
Although this would be another major Hollywood role for Depp, he wouldn’t necessarily be a main character in the film. Other sources told Deadline that it’s possible the movie would focus more on Margot Robbie’s character, and Depp would have a less significant role.
However, he does have the lead role in the upcoming film “Ebenezer.”
First trailer for ‘EBENEZER’, a new film based on ‘A Christmas Carol’ starring Johnny Depp.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 24, 2026
In theaters on November 13. pic.twitter.com/9MrsOuxoBX
The movie comes out in November. In it, Depp portrays Ebenezer Scrooge. The film has been described as Depp’s “big-budget Hollywood comeback.” Previously, during their high-profile defamation trial, Depp’s lawyers argued that Heard’s allegations against him had a significant impact on his career.
His lawyers claimed, “For nearly 30 years, Mr. Depp built a reputation as one of the most talented actors in Hollywood, a respected artist whose named was associated with success at the box office. Today, his name is associated with a lie, a false statement uttered by his former wife.”
Meanwhile, Heard’s legal team agreed that his career was suffering — but said he did that to himself.
His critics also believe that he is to blame for the current state of his career.
we will be boycotting because of johnny depp.
— ໊ (@buffys) August 16, 2026
After the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 news broke, critics on Reddit were not impressed. “Can we like not?” one person wrote in response. The news also reignited a debate about what actually happened to Depp’s career.
“Even if you ignore the domestic violence stuff (which we shouldn’t), Depp hasn’t been in a good movie for well over a decade,” a critic commented. “Hard to imagine this breaking that streak.”
Someone else argued that the allegations against him “didn’t impact his career and it was only when his unprofessionalism on set and he counter-accused Heard when he started losing work.”
Some critics speculated that those who continue to hire Depp might be hoping to profit off of the anti-woke crowd that believes Depp was unfairly “canceled.”
“The only logical reason I can see for giving Depp yet another chance is that they’re banking on enough ‘Depp was canceled because of woke!’ fans to make a profit,” another Redditor added. “Everything else about this screams ‘failure’ from the series already being bloated after the 3rd movie and Depp being an unprofessional actor that has been past his prime well before the trial/allegations.” Welp.
Regardless, he seems to be getting Hollywood roles now.
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