The Pirates of the Caribbean film series is continuing without Johnny Depp. Disney has many films planned for the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, one of which stars Margot Robbie. According to rumours, Disney may not be discussing Jack Sparrow’s whereabouts in these projects. While this may be true, they will not entirely dismiss the character. One of Giant Freakin Robot’s reliable inside sources has revealed that Disney is now working on a Jack Sparrow standalone project. Johnny Depp will not be involved though.

The media went into a frenzy after Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard claimed that Johnny assaulted her domestically. Soon, Heard’s charges were all anyone could talk about, and Depp would lose a legal lawsuit to U.K. tabloid The Sun, whom he sued of defamation after siding with Heard, sending his career into a tailspin. Disney parted company with Depp, leaving all of his fans, millions of whom have petitioned against the move and threatened to boycott the brand.

Credit: Disney

The Mouse House may believe that Pirates of the Caribbean can live without Jack Sparrow, but a solo adventure would be franchise death. Can you imagine how people would respond in such a situation? Who would be so naive as to try to fill Depp’s shoes? What function could it possible serve? What would it actively achieve, either creatively or commercially? For the time being, all of these and many more questions remain unresolved.

Disney is taking a risk with this approach. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow has grown on audiences. Please keep in mind that this is not proven and is only a rumor regarding a prospective project.

While cancel culture has altered Johnny Depp’s career and resulted in Disney no longer collaborating with him, moviegoers may not want to watch someone else take on the part. We can conceive of two approaches that the Pirates of the Caribbean project may take. One example would be to tell the genesis story of a young Jack Sparrow. The arrival of a new actor may be less distracting for the audience as a result of this. Another option is that the new project will be animated.