Johnny Depp Wanted a "Proper Goodbye" for Jack Sparrow

04/25/2022 03:31 pm EDT

Days after making headlines by suggesting there wasn't enough money in the world to get him to come back to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, actor and tabloid favorite Johnny Depp said in court that he had hoped for a better ending to his time with the character of Jack Sparrow. As part of a $50 million defamation case brought against ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp is claiming that a sixth Pirates movie was one of a number of projects he lost after a 2018 op-ed in which she accused him of abuse. It was on cross-examination by Heard's lawyer that his comments about not wanting to return to the franchise came up. Depp's own lawyer, on redirect, sought today to elaborate on those comments.

After the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean underwhelmed at the box office in 2017, it was not clear where the franchise would go next. Depp says that he was asked to consult on a potential story for the project, but when it was eventually announced, neither Depp nor the character of Jack Sparrow was mentioned in the press release.

"My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye," Depp testified (via Variety). "There's a way to end a franchise like that....I planned on continuing until it was time to stop."

During cross-examination last week, Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn cited a 2018 report -- which pre-dated Heard's op-ed -- which suggested that Depp had been fired as a result of financial issues and personal drama. Depp claimed he had not read that report, but said that he was not surprised that after two years of his protracted, public split with Heard, the divorce would have an impact on his prospects.

Not helping his case on cross-examination was a text message Depp sent to his manager in 2015, venting his frustration with the poor quality of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest script and suggesting he would not do another Pirates movie. 

"Honestly I will not again be doing anything that involves this discussion of furthering my embarrassment of having whored for all these f---ing wasted piece of shit nothing years on characters that I so ignorantly started to think of as my legacy," he wrote at the time. "Every c—ing fight!!! Every f---ing time!!! I held my ugliness and rage deeper down and get in check when there was still room in my head to do such a thing!!!!"

Testimony, and the audio from a 911 call Heard made during the couple's final fight, have painted a complex picture, with both parties being emotionally abusive to one another. Depp has claimed that he never physically fought back when Heard hit him, a claim Heard disputes. Audio clips played at trial included, among other things, Heard telling Depp that she left him "after you beat the s--t out of me," and that he should "put your cigarettes out on someone else."

He previously tried unsuccessfully to sue a British tabloid which referred to him as a "wife-beater," with the UK court ruling that the charactization was "substantially true." 

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