Will the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise fail now that Disney has confirmed Johnny Depp will never return as Captain Jack?
Will the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise fail now that Disney has confirmed Johnny Depp will never return as Captain Jack? It could either be the final nail in the coffin of an ailing franchise, or it could be the best thing to happen to the Pirates franchise in over 13 years. I understand and appreciate that there is a resurgent wave of sympathy that has been swelling of late for Johnny Depp. But for the purposes of this answer, let us leave aside his ugly legal entanglement with Amber Heard. The Pirates franchise has been sinking since 2007. After At World’s End, the franchise has been steadily submerging deeper and deeper into mediocrity, and with 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, it finally went all the way down to Davy Jones’ locker; the film was atrocious. Depp was the crown jewel of the original trilogy. He created something truly special with Jack Sparrow, who is a character for the ages. But in the last two films of the franchise, ...