Rumors are swirling that Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, who recently made headlines for his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife and actress Amber Heard, has been offered a whopping $301million contract by Disney to return to “Pirates of the Caribbean”. franchise like its iconic character, Captain Jack Sparrow. Several publications also reported that according to sources, Disney also offered a letter of apology to the star. However, neither the actor nor Disney have confirmed the news yet.
An entertainment news portal called Poptopic.com reported the news. The Australian pop culture gossip site spoke to a few industry insiders and claimed that “Disney offered Depp a $301 million deal to return as Jack Sparrow in another Pirates movie and a Disney Plus series!”
Poptopic.com reported that according to a reliable source close to the company, “Disney is very interested in repairing its relationship with Johnny Depp. They contacted the actor ahead of his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard and asked him if he would be interested in returning for another Pirates movie or two.”
“I know the company sent him a gift basket with a very heartfelt letter, but I don’t know how it was received. But what I can tell you is that the studio has already written a draft for a Jack Sparrow movie – so they’re very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character,” the insider said.
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Disney is even willing to go above and beyond that deal to cast Depp as Jack Sparrow again, the sources say.
A Disney insider further added, “Disney is preparing a deal for $301 million which will include a significant donation to a charity chosen by Depp. The deal is supposed to allow Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates. Caribbean 6 and a Disney Plus spin-off on the early days of the Captain of the Black Pearl.”
Interestingly, that reported $301 million is only $1 million more than that cited by Amber Heard’s attorney, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, in the defamation lawsuit.
She had said: ‘Is Disney aware that Mr. Depp testified under oath that he would not play another role in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise for $300 million and a million alpacas?
As of now, Disney has yet to drop any hints about Depp’s return to the franchise. Therefore, it is possible that this is just a rumor and nothing else.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ wasn’t the only franchise the 59-year-old actor was left out of. Warner Bros also pulled him from the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise following the Washington Post op-ed published by the “Aquaman” actress.
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Instead of the public defamation trial, the jury returned a verdict on June 1, deciding that Depp had proven that Heard had defamed him in the 2018 editorial. Depp maintained that he had never assaulted Heard and claimed that she had physically harmed him.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages, but Heard will only have to pay $8.4 million due to a Virginia law limiting punitive damages. In his countersuit, Heard won one of three counts of defamation and was awarded $2 million in damages, according to People magazine.
(With contributions from the agency)
