During his defamation trial today, actor Johnny Depp testified that he wanted to give Captain Jack Sparrow, his iconic character from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, a “proper goodbye,” according to Variety.
- The trial is a result of Depp alleging that he was dropped by Disney from the Pirates franchise after an op-ed was published by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
- Depp says he wanted to continue making the films to give his beloved character the sendoff he deserves:
- “My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye. There’s a way to end a franchise like that… I planned on continuing until it was time to stop.”
- Depp also explained that, after the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017, he was approached to write the screenplay for the sixth film in the franchise and that the film is now in “dangle mode.”
- The actor went on to testify about the pride he took in creating the character and explained that it changed significantly from the original script:
- “I incorporated my notes into the character and brought that character to life, much to the chagrin of Disney initially. I believed in the character wholeheartedly, and initially, the Disney folks were somewhat upset.”
- Depp is seeking damages in this trial for having lost the role in the popular Disney film franchise, however it is also being alleged that he had been fired by Disney prior to the release of the op-ed in question:
- “I wasn’t aware of that, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Depp testified. “Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife beater. So I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe.”
- Depp’s attorney Jessica Meyers made an effort to establish that Depp was still interested in making the sixth installment in the franchise in late 2018, but that appears to have changed.
- Depp emphasized that a comment he made about refusing to do another Pirates film was made well after he had been fired.