Expect to see a lot of Captain Jack Sparrows out there for Halloween this year. These days, Johnny Depp seems to be just as popular as ever following a big win over Amber Heard at his highly-publicized defamation trial. With a jury agreeing with Depp’s assertion that Heard had fabricated her allegations of domestic abuse, the embattled actor’s career is back on track with his next starring role already set for the French film Jeanne du Barry.
Meanwhile, the renewed attention on Depp has reignited fans’ efforts for the actor to return as Captain Jack Sparrow in another Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. Per TMZ, this resurgence of popularity for the fictional pirate has also resulted in a heavily increased demand for Jack Sparrow costumes. Costume retailers are having customers burn through their stock of Pirates of the Caribbean costumes, with the website HalloweenCostumes.com noting a 90% increase in sales for this year’s Halloween season. Even with a basic version for around $90 and a deluxe costume running closer to $300, the retailer has sold more than 85% of its Jack Sparrow outfits.
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Meanwhile, costumes made for more timely films like Hocus Pocus 2 and Top Gun: Maverick are not selling nearly as well as Captain Jack Sparrow costumes. This is despite the fact that the latest movie in that series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released five years ago. There have been rumblings of a reboot featuring Margot Robbie in the lead role, but many fans have been demanding to see the return of Jack Sparrow, especially now that his name has been cleared in the eyes of many due to the defamation trial verdict.
Would Johnny Depp Even Want to Return to Pirates of the Caribbean?
Walt Disney Studios
It’s always possible that Disney will reverse course on ousting Johnny Depp from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but the problem is that it might be too little, too late. The actor testified during the trial that he felt “betrayed” by Disney firing him, feeling hurt to the point that he doesn’t feel he could ever go back and make another movie with them. To demonstrate this point, Depp stood by his comments that he wouldn’t reprise that role even if Disney offered him $300 million and one million alpacas.
“My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye, as it were,” Depp testified. “A franchise can only last for so long and there’s a way to end a franchise like that and I thought that the characters deserved to have their way out, to end the franchise on a very good note. I planned on continuing until it was time to stop.”
With the fans lobbying for a return, however, Depp just might change his mind. In any case, the legend of Captain Jack Sparrow will live on with his fans, as we’ll apparently be seeing all around us on Halloween.
