Jerry Bruckheimer Says He's in Talks With Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean 6
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Deadline at D23 on 16 August 2026 that he is in talks with Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and that a screenplay is being worked on. Deadline
The disclosure sharpens what had been a slow-burn thread through the year. In a February 2026 interview, Bruckheimer told Deadline he believed Depp would reprise Captain Jack Sparrow if the script was strong enough. He gave Entertainment Weekly a similar account that same month, saying the screenplay was nearing completion and that Depp was interested. Now the language has shifted from "if" to active conversations. A separate Deadline TikTok posted on 16 August captured Bruckheimer confirming that talks with Depp have taken place. Deadline
For context on the scale of what is at stake: the five Pirates of the Caribbean films have grossed $4.5 billion at the global box office, according to Deadline. The most recent entry, 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales, took $795.9 million worldwide — the lowest tally in the series, domestic and international combined. Deadline
Depp has been building back toward studio-scale projects. Deadline reported in October 2025 that he is set to play Ebenezer Scrooge in a Christmas Carol film directed by Ti West. Deadline
Bruckheimer, meanwhile, was named a 2026 Disney Legend by The Walt Disney Company in March, alongside honourees including Chris Berman, Susan Egan and Eric Goldberg — a recognition of his decades-long producing relationship with the studio that built the Pirates franchise. WOKV
At D23, Bruckheimer also waded into the broader corporate picture at Paramount, where his banner is based. He addressed David Ellison's plans to move Paramount out of California — a manoeuvre tied to the state attorneys general antitrust case and the hold-up of the Melrose lot's merger with Warner Bros Discovery. Bruckheimer said he wants Paramount to stay in California and hopes the situation is resolved and the business gets healthier. Deadline
At a CinemaCon panel in April, alongside The Odyssey producer Emma Thomas, Bruckheimer said the Warner Bros Discovery merger was already being approved by European regulators and that he takes Ellison at his word to make 30 movies a year. The pair were pressed on why they had not signed a letter from Hollywood figures about the merger; Paramount responded that the deal would give creatives "more avenues for their work, not fewer." Deadline
No start date, director, or release window for Pirates 6 has been announced. What is confirmed is that the producer who built the franchise is talking to the star who carried it — and that the screenplay those talks hinge on is in progress.
