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Pirates Of The Caribbean: Star Says Franchise without Johnny Depp is Criminal

Fantastic Beasts 3 saw the departure of Johnny Depp, as Grindelwald, as a result of Warner Bros asking the star to retire himself from the role.  As of now, we’re not getting Depp back for Pirates of the Caribbean too. However, fans are still petitioning for Depp to return to the film franchise as Captain Jack Sparrow. As well, one former Pirates star believes you can’t have the Pirates franchise without Depp.

Most recently, Mr Gibbs actor Kevin McNally, who played Captain Jack’s sidekick in all five Pirates movies to date, has said a sixth film without Depp would be “criminal”.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Star Says Franchise without Johnny Depp is Criminal
Disney

McNally made his comments during an interview with fellow Pirates actor and Depp supporter Greg Ellis, who played Lieutenant Commander Theodore Groves across three Pirates movies.

The Mr Gibbs actor says how he gets asked a lot on social media about if he’s involved in Pirates 6.

He told Ellis on the latter’s video podcast The Respondent: “My dream is that some sort of link will be needed between what has been before and whatever bizarre incarnation of it there is to come.

“But I sincerely think that my fate is so tied in with Johnny’s that I will go with him, if indeed he does go.”

Asked if Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow should be in Pirates 6, McNally said: “Yes is the simple answer to that.

“My feelings about this are very complex because in a sense there was a slight feeling that the franchise itself had played out a little bit, so a reboot is a reasonable idea.

“I don’t think a reboot, if you concentrate on younger characters, should still exclude Jack Sparrow.

“I came up with an idea that there should be some young person searching for Jack Sparrow with Mr Gibbs helping find him. And then we find Jack Sparrow at the end. It wouldn’t involve too much work from Jack Sparrow.”

McNally added: “A lot of people will not go and see a Pirates film that Johnny’s not in.

“I’d have a hard time doing that. It would just seem a bit weird.

“And why do that anyway? Why not just create a new franchise?’”

There is a petition, which was seeking 150,000 signatures, that just passed 350,000 and is now seeking 500,000. Here’s what the person who created the petition said:

Johnny Depp has been out recently as Captain Jack Sparrow. One of the reasons is his personal issues as well.

He has been playing this role since 2003 when we first saw him arriving at the Port Royal in his boat with that epic background music playing.

But can you imagine someone else portraying this instead of him? Or no Jack Sparrow at all?

Disney is rebooting Dead Men Tell No Tales because of its box office but don’t they know that without Johnny Depp or Jack Sparrow  they will sink, they will never be able to reach that horizon they are looking for.

Even if it means nothing to you but please, sign this petition for the ones who REALLY want Johnny Depp as their Captain of the Black Pearl!

They have to bring him back to rule the seas again or we will never watch any Pirates of the Caribbean movie without our Captain.

These types of petitions rarely work and it typically takes something much greater to get a studio to change their mind, such as James Gunn’s rehiring for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 or getting Warner Bros to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League.

Warner Bros announced that they will be recasting Depp’s role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts film series.

Warner Bros released a statement, saying:

“Johnny Depp will depart the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date. ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast. The film will debut in theaters worldwide in the summer of 2022.”

J.K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter, released her own public statement that said:

“Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.”

The Wizarding World has been under a lot of fire the past year or so, with Rowling under fire due to a series of transphobic comments that have turned fans against her. As well, Fantastic Beasts 3 has been severely delayed by COVID-19, star Ezra Miller was caught on camera choking a fan, and now Depp has had to step down.

This controversy doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. What are your thoughts?

Source: Express

 

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