Many fans were disappointed to hear Disney removed Johnny Depp from the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. Their decision was a result of the ongoing legal debacle between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Interestingly, however, Amber Heard has not yet been fired from any of her projects. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, has also been removed from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. As the actor battles in court over a defamation case against Amber Heard, fans are now eager to have Johnny Depp reinstated as Jack Sparrow. Now fans have launched petitions in an effort to convince Disney that Johnny Depp should be brought back as Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
The first of our two listed Jack Sparrow petitions was created by a user named Femke. They wrote the following description to catch Disney’s attention:
“I want to keep Johnny Depp as jack sparrow because he made the films extra fun and I just can’t think about a pirates 6 without Johnny Depp”
As of this writing, the petition has earned nearly 50,000 signatures. The second petition that’s been gaining steam was created by another user named Riza Siddiqui. This petition so far has over 700,000 signatures – and it’s quickly nearing 1 million. After giving context for why Johnny Depp is such an important part of Jack Sparrow and the Pirates franchise, they wrote the following:
“Don’t they know that without Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow they will sink, they will never be able to reach that horizon.
Even if it means nothing to you but please, sign this petition for the ones who REALLY want Johnny Depp as their Captain of the Black Pearl!
They have to bring him back to rule the seas again, UNLESS it is actor’s own choice to withdraw from the role.”
It’s worth mentioning that Johnny Depp has already stated he won’t appear as Jack Sparrow again. According to him, he felt betrayed by Disney after they fired him. While that’s understandable, it’s possible that with enough fan support even he could be convinced to return – assuming Disney allows him to by that point. Of course, we’ll just have to see what happens with the current trial before seeing Johnny Depp in any more movies.