Producer Jerry Bruckheimer reveals that he has had talks with Johnny Depp about returning for more Pirates of the Caribbean adventures.

Johnny Depp will return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Jack Sparrow if legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer gets his way. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Bruckheimer, who is best-known for his role in such iconic franchises as Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Bad Boys, and National Treasure, revealed that he has even had talks with Depp about a comeback and described the actor as a “good friend.”

“If it was up to me, of course. I love having Depp… He’s a great actor and good friend… I’ve certainly spoken to him, but we’ll see what happens.”

Depp’s career has infamously taken a back-step in recent years due to legal issues stemming from his marriage to actress and Aquaman star Amber Heard. These included a libel lawsuit in the United Kingdom filed by Depp against newspaper The Sun, which Depp lost, and a defamation lawsuit that Depp filed against Heard, which the actor won.

After saying he would never return to the Disney franchise, Depp has since said he would consider working with The House of Mouse again depending on the project. “Anything is possible. If it’s the right project, he’ll do it,” said an insider about Depp’s potential return.

The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise Is Getting a Reboot

While audiences may not see Depp back as Jack Sparrow just yet, they will soon see more from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Earlier this year, while commenting on the state of some of his most well-known franchises, Bruckheimer confirmed the long-running rumors that the Pirates series is getting a reboot…

“It’s hard to tell. You don’t know, you really don’t know. You don’t know how they come together. You just don’t know. Because with Top Gun you have an actor who is iconic and brilliant. And how many movies he does before he does Top Gun, I can’t tell you. But we’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”

The last we saw of Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was in 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, which introduced Brenton Thwaites as the son of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, Henry, alongside Javier Bardem as the villainous Captain Armando Salazar. Met with largely negative reviews from critics (Dead Men Tell No Tales sits at a ‘rotten’ 30% on Rotten Tomatoes), the studio has decided to take the franchise in an entirely new direction.

Various ideas for how to continue the series have since been pitched, including a new tale with Barbie star Margot Robbie in the lead. However, further reports have suggested that the reboot mentioned here by Bruckheimer will be something separate.