Still hoping? Johnny Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean 6 return just got good news

After years of rumours, speculation, and enough clickbait to sink a galleon, it looks like Johnny Depp really might be heading back to the high seas for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. And yes, this isn’t just some blog running wild with pirate emojis—Disney’s go-to blockbuster wrangler Jerry Bruckheimer himself has spilt the details.

Depp’s Next Voyage

The biggest twist in all this is that the new film, currently in development at Disney, is pushing ahead with Depp in the mix—though this time he may be trading front-and-centre antics for a role more in the background. Here’s how Bruckheimer put it to Deadline during D23:

Bruckheimer told the outlet, 'We’re talking with Johnny, we’re working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done.'

So they’re ‘talking,’ the script is in the works, and clearly Disney isn’t done with Jack Sparrow’s eyeliner just yet. But don’t expect business as usual. Word is, the next instalment is set to take a very different tack: Margot Robbie is apparently being lined up to lead the cast, with Sparrow taking a step back as more of a supporting figure. A bit of a gamble, but with most of the creative team still circling, there’s still plenty of swashbuckling potential left in the tank.

The last ‘Pirates’ film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2017 and made $795.9 million worldwide.

Which, believe it or not, makes it the lowest earner in a series that’s hauled in $4.5 billion globally since Jack Sparrow first swaggered onto screens. Disney won’t exactly be walking the plank over those numbers, but clearly, something fresh is needed to fire up audience interest again.

Bruckheimer on Paramount Drama

As if he hasn’t got enough on his plate, Bruckheimer was also quizzed during the D23 chat about the ongoing mess at Paramount, which is considering a dramatic exit from California. That’s all part of the fallout from their still-controversial attempted merger with Warner Bros Discovery—and a state-level antitrust case thrown into the bargain. David Ellison, who’s been steering the ship at Paramount, is apparently keen on moving the studio elsewhere. Bruckheimer isn’t interested in watching the industry haemorrhage any more jobs or resources from Hollywood, and he made his position clear.

He told the audience:

'It’s unfortunate that it’s got this kind of political circle around it, which is a shame.'

He went on to say he’s hoping for a resolution that keeps Paramount in town, and that it bodes well for the wider business, too. For those keeping score, Bruckheimer isn’t shy about backing Ellison’s ambition: at CinemaCon, he urged everyone to take Ellison’s 30-films-per-year plan at face value.