Johnny Depp was reportedly in contact with Disney who offered the actor $301 million to return as Captain Jack Sparrow to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise. However, Depp’s representative has shut down all rumours saying “This is made up”, as per E! News. 

While the 59-year-old appeared in all five ‘Pirates’ movies, he parted ways with the franchise in 2018, after ex-wife Amber Heard came out with an explosive op-ed in The Washington Post where she all but accused Depp of sexual abuse. There were also reports that Depp’s hefty salary and the later films not performing at the box office led to an executive call to breathe new life into the franchise. 

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Whichever way the event is cut, Depp considered the severance to be permanent and when asked by Heard’s lawyer Ben Rottenborn, Depp confirmed that he wouldn’t return to Disney even if they gave him $301 million and a million alpacas. 

Depp’s initial decision to play Sparrow led the actor to earn an Academy Award nomination and the Kentucky-born star, based the character somewhat on Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist. 

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Depp took Heard to court over the op-ed and ended up winning the $50 million defamation suit. The jury in Fairfax, Virginia, ordered Heard to pay $10.5 million for damages caused to Depp. 

Rumours of Depp’s return started doing the rounds after the trial got over and the actor’s seen a surge in popularity. Disney, for now, has plans on shaking up the franchise with a female lead and ‘Suicide Squad‘ actor Margot Robbie could be considered for the part. 

Heard and Depp married in 2015 and split up in 2017, with the ‘Aquaman‘ actor taking out the op-ed a year later. Depp has alleged that the story adversely affected his social standing and career, with him being booted off the ‘Fantastic Beasts‘ franchise where he played Grindelwald.