Pirates of the Caribbean star Vince Lozano thinks Johnny Depp deserves to return to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow but believes a fresh start with the franchise is unlikely for the controversial actor.
According to Movieweb, Lozano expressed his admiration for Depp and acknowledged the dedication of his fans. However, he does not see a return to Pirates of the Caribbean in the cards for the screen legend.
“I think he deserves another shot as Jack, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, I’m hearing a lot of stories out there. The audience is there though. I do a lot of pirate conventions and there’s such a big subculture of people that dress up like pirates, and they love Johnny.”
It would be interesting to know exactly which stories Lozano has been hearing but he did not get into specifics. Nevertheless, there may be hope despite his skepticism. After all, Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer showered Depp with giddy accolades:
“He’s just so good at what he does and actors recover from things like this. He’s a good individual and he’s a caring individual. He’s somebody that you can rely on and he’s just terrific. I think Johnny is an utter friend and an amazing artist and, again, you go through things in life you wish you hadn’t, but he’s still a talented artist.”
Intriguingly, Lozano was unmoved by Bruckheimer’s fawning praise for the scarf-loving actor and the producer’s eagerness to put Depp back at the helm of The Black Pearl.
So why doesn’t Lozano see Depp’s grand return on the horizon? One can only speculate that he may be basing his opinion on Depp’s health challenges. But, ultimately, it’s more likely a matter of the bottom line and how well Depp’s return would go over with U.S. audiences.
While images of Depp’s triumph at the Cannes Film Festival saturated the news media earlier this year, America is not France.
France willfully ignores the reality that it is one of the most dangerous places for women to exist in Europe. It would rather deny its gender-based violence crisis than work to solve the problem. Moreover, France has a long history of embracing, enabling and rewarding perpetrators of these crimes, like Roman Polanski. Within this culture, Maïwenn, a filmmaker who is openly anti-#MeToo, cast Depp in the film Jeanne Du Barry.
Contrary to Bruckheimer’s gushing adulation, rumors of Depp’s imperiousness on set began circulating once the cameras started rolling. Maïwenn recalled her frustration:
Johnny is a star, a king… and an American! I was told not to let him know that we were waiting for him to shoot a scene, I was not allowed to knock on the door of his dressing room. One day, I did it anyway. And there, he made me understand that I had committed an unacceptable intrusion and asked me how I would have felt if he came knocking on my dressing room door. I replied that everyone does it all the time. Because that’s how a set works in France!”
While Maïwenn’s film performed well enough at the French box office, there are no guarantees that Depp’s return as a leading man will translate stateside. Disney may find it hard to ignore the open letter supporting Amber Heard published and signed by the foremost domestic violence experts in the world. The company’s hesitation to invest in an actor who was once one of its most lucrative stars speaks volumes. Whether the multimedia giant chooses to embrace Depp once again remains to be seen. The reality is that a number of complexities will impact its decision, including cultural shifts and an industry reckoning with its past and present.