Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Bringing Back Jack Sparrow Would Be a Mistake

It really doesn’t make much sense that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is on the horizon. Yes, the first four movies made tons of money for the Mouse House and, on the surface, 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales scored a seemingly fine $795 million domestically. However, that 2017 sequel cost $320 million to make and was the first entry in the series to make under $180 million in North America. Interest was clearly dwindling in this saga. Given how the international box office potential for American blockbusters has cratered in the 2020s, it’s doubtful Pirates of the Caribbean 6 could be immediately profitable in theaters.

Still, the project is plunging forward, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has divulged that Johnny Depp has expressed interest in returning for this installment as Jack Sparrow. In the understatement of the century, bringing Depp back as Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would be a tremendous (artistic) mistake.

Jack Sparrow’s Schtick Grew Tiresome

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Johnny Depp still has some fans out there, but he’s also a deeply controversial person embroiled in numerous legal allegations. Even putting all personal matters aside, bringing Depp back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is already a bad idea on one front: Depp isn’t a box office draw and hasn’t been for ages.

In the 2010s, Depp suffered a string of box office bombs like Dark Shadows, Mortdecai, Transendence, and countless others reaffirming how his appeal had truly shrunk from the days of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even when he was playing Jack Sparrow again in 2017, that wasn’t enough to keep Dead Men Tell No Tales from easily becoming the lowest-grossing Pirates of the Caribbean sequel worldwide (and the lowest-grossing entry period domestically). Even from a cynical monetary perspective, Depp’s return doesn’t feel like a slam-dunk financially. Plus, summer 2025 bombs like Ballerina and Karate Kid: Legends proved that bringing back old cast members to rekindle tired franchises isn’t enough to gain audience interest.

Even more importantly, Depp’s Jack Sparrow schtick grew oh so tired as the Pirates franchise went along. In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Depp’s Sparrow was an exhilarating bolt out of the blue who used a drunk exterior to mask a cunning interior life. By the time At World’s End arrived four years later, Depp’s performance had lapsed into an annoying caricature. A decade later, in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the actor’s uber-broad antics had sunk to embarrassingly grating lows. Why would anyone want this character to come back?

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Jack Sparrow was already a nuisance when this saga was producing regular installments. In the confines of a “legacy sequel” installment, where Sparrow would undoubtedly deliver countless callbacks to past adventures, the character would become even more of a rerun, a diabolical fate for a figure who was initially so subversive.

Let This Franchise Grow & Evolve

Jack Sparrow’s increasingly annoying presence in this saga alone should be enough to get this character put on the back burner. However, there’s also the fact that this franchise has failed to develop new characters after At World’s End; players who can take over for folks like Will Turner or Elizabeth Swann. Nobody remembers the straightforward leads played by Brenton Thwaites and Sam Claflin in the 2010s franchise entries.

That’s a microcosm of how much this saga is stuck in the past, as is that inexplicable Dead Men Tell No Tales post-credit scene teasing a resurrected Davy Jones. Making Pirates of the Caribbean 6 another Johnny Depp show would ensure no new actors could get the room to establish themselves as the new faces of the franchise.

Several internet-based souls threw a hissy fit over unsubstantiated rumors that Ayo Edebiri was being eyeballed to headline a new Pirates of the Caribbean entry. Yet wouldn’t that actually be the best outcome for this weary saga? Anchoring a big PG-13 action movie meant to sell toys would certainly be beneath the artistry prowess of The Bear veteran. However, having a performer of her tremendous caliber would certainly make Pirates of the Caribbean relevant to a new generation and suggest this saga was finally headed into uncharted creative waters.

If the Pirates of the Caribbean movies want to even have a chance of existing as culturally relevant in the 2020s, then they must eschew the “hottest” leading man of 2004. Jack Sparrow was already passe in 2017 and has only grown more groan-worthy with time. The world doesn’t really need a return to this fictional world, but if there must be further features, they must focus on new characters and stories that belong to modern audiences. Resurrecting Jack Sparrow would not be an ideal route. As so many struggling Disney franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe can attest, leaning only on nostalgia can only take you so far.

The first five Pirates of the Caribbean movies are now streaming on Disney+.