Johnny Depp is allegedly in talks to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in a deal that will pay more than $300 million, according to a report from the New York Post. The new deal comes after Depp was dropped from the franchise in 2018 amid abuse allegations from Amber Heard, although a specific reason was never officially stated. A source close to Disney identified as an "industry insider" reportedly leaked the news during a recent interview with an Australian entertainment website called Poptopic.

“The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow," the source told the outlet. The actor played the iconic role in five Pirates of the Caribbean movies from 2003 to 2017. The source continued:

“Disney are very interested in patching up their relationship with Johnny Depp. They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another Pirates film or two.... I know corporate sent him a gift basket with a very heartfelt letter, but I’m unsure how it was received. But what I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow — so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character."

When Depp was dropped from the franchise, the NY Post reports it lost him a $22.5 million paycheck. Now that he has come out of the intense and highly publicized defamation trial victorious, it looks like Depp could return to one of his most famous roles with the lucrative deal. Depp was also awarded over $10 million in the case after the jury found Heard liable for defaming the actor.

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Lisa St. Regis