Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have made countless headlines thanks to their years-long legal battle. Things especially heated up when the two met in court in Virginia for their defamation trial, of which Depp was largely the victor. As he heads into appeal with Heard, the petition to bring him back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has quickly racked up a ton of signatures.
With cameras in the courtroom, the public was able to watch every moment that occurred during Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial. This includes their days of testimony, which were made into countless memes. Both actors’ lawyers have submitted appeals on the verdict, so the situation is still unfolding. And as fans wait on bated breath, the Change.Org petition asking Depp to be hired back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is currently at over 750k signatures and fast approaching that million mark.
Disney currently has plans for two different Pirates of the Caribbean projects, one of which will star Margot Robbie. But neither of these plans seem to include Johnny Depp, who played Captain Jack Sparrow throughout all of the previous installments. And some fans are making their thoughts known in hopes that this decision is reversed. Since we last covered the petition months ago, hundreds of thousands more signatures have joined the cause.
Johnny Depp’s relationship with Disney and tenure in Pirates of the Caribbean came up a number of times throughout his defamation trial with Amber Heard. Depp’s team of lawyers implied that Heard’s 2018 op-ed is part of the reason why he wasn’t asked to continue playing the role. On the other hand, some testimony showed the strained relationship he reportedly had with the studio while shooting and promoting the movies.
Of course, this isn’t the only popular online petition that Johnny Depp fans have assembled for him during these unprecedented times. After he was fired from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, fans created a petition asking Warner Bros. to similarly fire Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. That petition is even more popular, with over 4 million signatures at the time of writing this story.
So will Johnny Depp actually return to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow? It’s unclear, but it’s definitely hard to imagine the franchise without its mascot. It’s definitely possible that neither fan petition will make any real change, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Regardless, Johnny Depp’s career definitely seems to be on the upswing following the defamation trial. He’s currently filming his first post-trial movie, and also secured a new directing gig. Additionally, Depp has also been keeping busy touring as a musician, and recently signed a seven-figure deal to once again be the face of Dior’s Sauvage fragrance.
Johnny Depp is filming his new movie now, but his tenure as Jack Sparrow is available on Disney+. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
