Johnny Depp dropped from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' as Disney looks to reboot franchise

It's a bad time to be Johnny Depp. After reports emerged that Disney Studios was planning a major reboot of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, it has now been revealed that the actor has been dropped from the franchise. Depp, who played the central role of Captain Jack Sparrow, was the major lead in five Pirates movies over the last 15 years.

The news of Depp being left out of the upcoming reboot was first confirmed by 'Pirates' scriptwriter Stuart Beattie who said that Disney Studios appears to be ditching the star while they get to the task of reworking the entire franchise.

Johnny Depp attends the 'Murder On The Orient Express' World Premiere at Royal Albert Hall on November 2, 2017 in London, England (Getty Images)

Depp, who has been plagued by a lot of personal drama over the past four years, made his final voyage on the Black Pearl as Sparrow in 2017's 'Dead Men Tell No Tales', which was considered to be the lowest-performing film in the franchise. Speaking to the Daily Mail at a red carpet event in Hollywood, Beattie confirmed that the reboot means Depp is out as Sparrow.

Nodding at the suggestion of Depp being out, he said: "I think he's had a great run. Obviously, he's made that character his own and it's become the character he's most famous for now. 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."

Actor Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow (Getty Images)

Beattie also told the media outlet that, even if Depp got back on his feet after his current struggles, his Hollywood career high point would always be defined by Sparrow and getting paid more than $4 billion from the movies. 

Beattie added: "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."

"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. Because he wasn't a proven commodity; you know, a big movie star. And we were making a big movie and we were putting this quirky, independent actor in the middle of it and people thought we were crazy. The fact that it worked is a miracle."

He added, "They were certainly nervous watching the rushes every day but, when it all came together, something just clicked and it was magic and connected with audiences. I'm proud to be a part of it."

Depp, who is known for playing various unconventional roles in cult movies like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Edward Scissorhands', and 'Alice In Wonderland', would not have expected to taste such great success at the hands of Captain Jack when 'The Curse of the Black Pearl' released back in the year 2003.

Johnny Depp Will Star in Dark Comedy 'King of the Jungle'

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa will direct the film about John McAfee, creator of the McAfee antivirus software.

Johnny Depp will star in King of the Jungle, a dark comedy based on the true story of John McAfee, creator of the McAfee antivirus software.









Glenn Ficarra and John Requa will direct from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The project is an adaptation of a Wired article by Joshua Davis. The feature is from Condé Nast Entertainment, Zaftig Films, MadRiver Pictures and Epic Entertainment.

The article, John McAfee’s Last Stand, followed McAfee, who cashed in his fortune, left civilization and moved to the jungle in Belize. There, he set-up a Colonel Kurtz-like compound of guns, sex and madness. In the film, a Wired magazine investigator accepts what he thinks is a run-of-the-mill assignment to interview McAfee, but once he arrives in Belize, he finds himself pulled into McAfee’s escalating paranoia, slippery reality and murder.

The movie will be produced by Condé Nast’s Dawn Ostroff and Jeremy Steckler; Zaftig’s Charlie Gogolak, Ficarra and Requa; and Epic’s Joshua Davis. MadRiver’s Marc Butan and Epic’s Joshuah Bearman will executive produce.

IMR International is handling foreign sales at Cannes, with CAA repping domestic rights.

Depp will soon be seen in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and his other upcoming films include Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express, Miramax’s LAbyrinth and Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2. The actor is repped by CAA.

Alexander and Karaszewski are repped by CAA and attorney Christine Cuddy; Requa and Ficarra are with CAA and attorney Jeff Frankel; Condé Nast Entertainment is repped by CAA and attorney Ziffren Brittenham; and Davis is with UTA and attorney Linda Lichter.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean' Version of 'Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Trailer Emerges. (VIDEO)

The fifth installment of Disney’s hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbeanfranchise has certainly been a long time coming – the last entry, On Stranger Tides, was released in 2011 – but with a summer 2017 release date on the horizon, it seems the studio is finally ready to give audiences a glimpse of what they’ve been working on.

Earlier this evening, the first teaser trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was revealed, and you can check it out below.

The trailer was first revealed during the season final of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, which seems appropriate given the decaying, zombie-like appearance of Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his crew. It seems this group has recently escaped from the Devil’s Triangle, and Salazar has a score to settle with his old nemesis, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

Fans looking forward to an appearance by Depp should ready themselves for disappointment – he’s nowhere to be found in this footage, nor are any of the returning cast members from previous films. This is most likely a very calculated move on the park of the Disney marketing team, as we’re only a few weeks removed from Depp’s very public split with his former wife, Amber Heard, amid allegations of physical abuse, drug addiction and alcohol dependency. No doubt the studio is banking on the Pirates of the Caribbeanname being a big enough draw on its own, without the need to parade Depp in front of the cameras.

Along with this teaser trailer, Disney has also released the first poster for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. You can find it below, along with the official synopsis.

Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including him. Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas.

Directed by Espen Sandberg & Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki) and also starring Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will hit theaters on May 26, 2017.

Johnny Depp is Comforting Angelina Jolie Following Her Split From Brad Pitt

Angelina Jolie is getting by with a little help from her friends.

The 41-year-old is reportedly being consoled by Johnny Depp following her split from Brad Pitt.

The mother-of-six starred alongside the 53-year-old in The Tourist and has apparently turned to the Hollywood star in the wake of her high-profile split from Brad.

"Angelina idolized Johnny for years before she worked with him on The Tourist, and then the pair of them really hit it off on set,” a source told The Sun.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star is reported to have recommended divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who represented the actor through his divorce from estranged wife Amber Heard, to Angelina following the collapse of her marriage.

Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images    

"The two of them have stayed in touch ever since then, and spoke regularly during the storm that surrounded Johnny's break up with Amber. There's no suggestion that their closeness played any part in Angelina and Brad's split,” the source continued.

“But they have been speaking about the situation, and Angelina hired Johnny's lawyer to represent her based on the advice that he has given her.”

This comes shortly after her father, actor Jon Voight, said she is doing “fine.”

However, he expressed concern for her children — Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

Video Emerges Showing Johnny Depp Going Off Violently On Amber Heard

The lawsuit between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp is still very much ongoing.

A video emerges on Friday, August 12 showing the 53-year-old chucking a bottle of wine towards his estranged wife, TMZ has reported.

The clip shows the 30-year-old asking the actor if he had the entire bottle of wine.

“Oh, you got this thing going? You got this going!” the Pirates of the Caribbean star is seen yelling to his wife, who was filming.

The father of two then begins to thrash around, slam cabinets and yell profanities.

“Mother f—ker! Mother f—ker!” he screamed.

Credit: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images    

The video was reportedly filmed before the May 21 incident that ultimately led to Amber filing for divorce on May 23, 2016.

The Magic Mike XXL star has issued a statement to TMZ saying she did not leak the video and she “underestimated” the emotional impact of the divorce.

Meanwhile, Johnny’s camp claims the video is “heavily edited” and doesn’t tell the whole story.

Unfortunately for the blonde actress, the video will likely not be admissible in court because it’s edited and her estranged husband doesn’t know he was being taped.