Disney to Save $90 Million by Cutting Johnny Depp From 'Pirates' Franchise

Published: 1/4/2019, 5:43:20 PM EST

Disney to Save $90 Million by Cutting Johnny Depp From 'Pirates' Franchise — Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow at the 'Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at The Walt Disney Studios' presentation at Disney's Expo in Anaheim, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2015. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow won't be making any more voyages on the Black Pearl. According to a new report, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise is going to come up with its 6th installment, but without its iconic Captain Jack Sparrow. The reason? Money.

"Nobody's thinking about bringing on Johnny for the next one, at his reported $90-million per," according to Forbes.

$90 million is the amount he received for appearing in the fifth installment "Dead Men Tell No Tales" in 2017. It's a big portion of the film's estimated $230 million budget, especially considering it only made $172 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo. While it earned almost $800 million globally, that's the lowest grossing film in the franchise, which has made more than $4.5 billion overall. "Dead Men Tell No Tales" was projected to surpass the billion-dollar mark, which makes $800 million seem a bit of a letdown. "Dead Men Tell No Tales" also scrapped a measly 29 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the likely result of some shoddy scripting and lengthy delays, according to CoS.

Depp was deeply involved in creating the script for "Dead Men Tell No Tales," saying he was a "writing partner." He wasn't given any writing credit though, with Jeff Nathanson billed as the writer for the script. With Depp being heavily involved in the "Pirates" franchise for more than a decade, "we can fairly estimate that the scenes involving his character would be some of the more highly wrought, if not overthought, set pieces ever to see the silver screen," Forbes reported.

With that much money at stake, Disney decided it was time for a change. But there's no arguing that the Pirates franchise is one of the most successful in cinematic history. The franchise would stay, but the lead star would not.

The Reboot

New writers have been called onboard. "Deadpool" writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are to breathe new life into the series. It's a bold move, but it's also a quick way to save a third of the film's budget by replacing Depp with some less expensive new blood.

Disney's production head, Sean Bailey, essentially confirmed Depp's departure.

"We want to give it a kick in the pants," Bailey said of the franchise reboot, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which reported Bailey is mulling "the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without Johnny Depp."

When The Hollywood Reporter asked him about whether "Pirates" can survive without Depp, Bailey didn't outright confirm the move, but made strong suggestions.

"We want to bring in a new energy and vitality," he replied. "I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that's what I've tasked them with."

While Bailey might not have confirmed cutting out Depp, the original scriptwriter, Stuart Beattie, seemingly did in October.

He said the entire franchise will be redone, "and kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it's been great for him, it's been great for us, so I'm just very, very happy about it," he told the Daily Mail.

"I think Jack Sparrow will be his legacy. It's the only character he's played five times, it's the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it's what he'll be remembered for," Beattie said, speaking about Depp.

Before playing the swashbuckler-role, Depp was best known for cult films such as "Ed Wood" (1994), "Edward Scissorhands," and "Cry Baby" both from 1990.

"Before Jack Sparrow came along, [Depp] was considered this kind of quirky, independent actor that made these really cool little Tim Burton films, but he was by no means a movie star and a lot of people thought we were crazy for casting him at the time," Beattie said.

US actor Johnny Depp (R) and film director Tim Burton (L) pose at the "Dark Shadow" press conference in Tokyo, May 13, 2012. (Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images) — US actor Johnny Depp (R) and film director Tim Burton (L) pose at the "Dark Shadow" press conference in Tokyo, May 13, 2012. Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

There's no doubt Depp played a central role in the franchise as Captain Jack Sparrow. He was even nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the first "Pirates" film. However, it seems that ship has sailed and the "Pirates" franchise is going to keep going, without its iconic swashbuckler.