Actor Johnny Depp is reportedly refusing to return to Pirates of the Caribbean because he is still angry at Disney for dropping him during his abuse case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Despite rumors that Depp could stand to make $20 million by returning to Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to play Captain Jack Sparrow, the actor has decided he is done with Disney after the studio severed ties with him in 2018, when Heard accused him of abuse, according to sources close to the actor, who spoke to Daily Mail.
Last week, Disney studios President Sean Bailey said the studio was “noncommittal at this point” about Depp’s return, which was widely viewed as a move to leave the door open for the actor, following his win in court last year against Heard.
But friends close to Depp say the actor has spent the past few months mulling over what he wants to do, and on the eve of his 60th birthday this Friday, he has expressed that he has absolutely no interest in ever working with Disney again.
“They blind dropped him even though Amber had lied her ass off,” a friend of Depp told the outlet.
The friend added that Depp has decided that he will never agree to return to this particular studio film, no matter how lucrative the offer, and that it is very unlikely that the actor will want to do any studio film again.
Because Disney was not the only studio to give him the cold shoulder when he was dealing with troubles with his ex-wife.
Tim Burton, a long time friend of Depp, is making a second Beetlejuice film for Warner Bros, but Depp will not make an appearance, even though he is godfather to Burton’s children.
Depp’s friends say that this is due to the actor’s reluctance to get involved with Warner Bros again after the studio cut him out of the Fantastic Beasts franchise when he lost his libel action against Heard in London.
“He says he isn’t interested in speaking someone else’s words. He is interested in authentic expression of himself, through art and music at the moment,” a friend told Daily Mail. “He’s got no interest in Hollywood at all.”
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