Orlando Bloom thinks the only way to make the new Pirates of the Caribbean film work is to “bring everybody back”, including Johnny Depp.
A sixth film in the franchise is currently being written, with Captain Jack Sparrow star Depp in talks to return despite once declaring that “nothing on this earth” could make him reprise his Oscar-nominated role.
Bloom, who played young swashbuckler Will Turner, thinks Depp is needed to make the film a hit, and has also called on original star Keira Knightley to jump aboard as “that’s the way” to ensure the film’s success.
“Everything is in the writing, right? Everything is on the page and I think there’s definitely... I’m sure there’s a way to create something,” the actor said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“I would personally love to see everybody back. I think the way to win on that one is to get everybody back – if they can and if everybody wanted to go back.”
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently said he thinks Depp will sign up to the film “if he likes the way the part’s written”.
However, Depp distanced himself from speculation that he would return to the franchise during legal proceedings with ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.
Depp, who starred in five Pirates films between 2003 and 2017, was asked by Heard’s lawyer: “If Disney came to you with $300m dollars and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film?”
“That is true,” Depp answered.
Depp sued Heard in Virginia court for defamation, claiming that she had falsely implied he was abusive towards her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed titled: “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
The jury ultimately ruled in favour of Depp but also found in favour of Heard’s countersuit, in which she claimed that Depp’s lawyer had defamed her by describing her abuse allegations as a “hoax”.
Bruckheimer previously told The Times that he would “love” Depp to return to the film series as he is “a friend and a terrific actor”.
“It’s unfortunate that personal lives creep into everything we do,” he added. Since the court case, Depp has starred in historical drama Jeanne du Barry, directed by French filmmaker Maïwenn, and is currently filming action thriller Day Drinker with Penélope Cruz.
Margot Robbie was at one point set to lead a new Pirates movie, but Bruckheimer scrapped the project and instead set his sights on a new script featuring “more of an ensemble” cast.
In December 2024, Knightley, who played Elizabeth Swann, said that it wasn’t all fun and games on the set of the original films, stating that the movies had been simultaneously “making and breaking” her.
“I was seen as s*** because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for,” the star of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement told The Times.
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