While the franchise survived the departure of two of its original stars in Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley with 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has revealed that the series will only continue for as long as Johnny Depp is willing to return as Captain Jack Sparrow.
““I just don’t see it [working on Pirates without Depp],” Bruckheimer told Digital Spy during a press interview to promote the release of the new film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. “The secret to any successful franchise is picking talented people, and Johnny is absolutely key to the success of Pirates. He’s such a unique character, such an endearing character, and such an irreverent character all in one.”
Bruckheimer also seemingly ruled out a small screen spinoff of the blockbuster series, adding that: “You have a kitchen in your house, right? But you still go out to eat. If something drags you out of the house it’s usually good food. We have to make really, really good movies to make people stay away from their televisions. And that’s exactly what we do.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is reportedly looking at a global opening weekend in the region of $275 million, so assuming Depp is willing to return, it’s probably safe to assume we will be getting a sixth instalment at some point in time.
SEE ALSO: Three Ways to Fix the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea – notably Jack. Jack’s only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifull small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has never faced.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki) and features returning stars Johnny Depp , Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin McNally, Stephen Graham and Martin Klebba alongside new additions Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, David Wenham, Kaya Scodelario, Golshifteh Farahani and Paul McCartney. It is set for release on May 26th 2017.
Originally published May 28, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
