Early this week, there was a controversial rumour that The Bear‘s breakout star, Ayo Edebiri, could be replacing Johnny Depp as the lead in the long-planned sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Notorious scooper Daniel Richtman reported the news, but he’s since clarified the original post, writing, “It’s not true, there’s no “Replacing Depp” or anything like that. She’s only the “Type” they’re looking at for the lead in one of the planned spinoffs (not the Margot Robbie one).”
Nevertheless, fans have been wondering why Disney seems to be moving on without Johnny Depp, given how popular the franchise has been up to this point (to the tune of $4.5 billion). One such fan is none other than Elon Musk, who took to X, writing, in the replies to one of the tweets revealing this info, “Disney Sucks.”
Indeed, it seems like the 6th Pirates of the Caribbean movie has become a hot-button topic for many, especially given that Johnny Depp still hasn’t had a prominent role since the outcome of the infamous Depp v Heard trial. Many feel his innocence should have catapulted him back to the top of the heap in terms of roles. Depp, in the past, has said he wasn’t interested in reprising the role. However, franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer has gone on record saying that he hopes Depp returns someday and that he would work with him again. One wonders if Disney feels the same way, with them being notoriously risk-averse, to the point that many feel their movies have lost their way and become overly concerned with messaging rather than pure entertainment.
What do you think? Do you believe a Pirates 6 will ever happen without Depp? Would Ayo Edebiri be a good addition to the franchise, perhaps with Depp himself being back as Jack Sparrow by her side? Let us know in the comments!