Reactions to this week’s rumors that Johnny Depp is set to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean the franchise can perhaps be summed up in two words: “what a surprise”. This sudden switch to French is perhaps appropriate, as Depp, whose image has suffered a major blow in recent years that is almost (but not quite) unrivaled in the top 10, is likely on the run after his latest film, the French historical drama Jeanne du Barry, which only got a 49 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
His performance here as Louis XV has been variously described as “listless” and “inert”. But what was perhaps most surprising about the film’s promotional campaign, such as it was, was that its director, the French actress and writer Maïwenn, was not diplomatic when she opened up about her relationship with the troubled and now toppled Hollywood legend.
Although Maïwenn insisted she had no regrets about casting the actor, many believed he had been “canceled” after his bitter lawsuit with former partner Amber Heard – Heard had accused Depp of emotional and physical abuse, charges that a U.S. jury found to be false. but a British judge in another libel trial ruled that it was true – she admitted that the team was “afraid” of him, that he “wouldn’t do what the script demanded” and that he actively wanted to be treated as an icon “all the time.”
Ouch. Once upon a time, more precisely in the late 1980s, Depp was the emerging giant of cinema, the new James Dean, Paul Newman reborn. Imagine Ryan Gosling, but with even more chiseled cheekbones. Too good-looking for real life, he made much more sense on the big screen where he proved to be a wonderfully sensitive actor in films like Cry Baby And What eats grapes Gilbert. Director Tim Burton wisely realized that Depp was a kindred spirit, essentially a Roald Dahl character quietly obsessed with the music of The Cure, and began casting him in all of his films, including Edward Scissorhandsin which the actor – those fearful eyes like a window into the most delicate souls – dazzled.
But fame corrupts, and Depp is rightfully the victim, now king of his own castle, with no one to answer to. Superstars rarely live normal, fair lives, do they? Although he long resisted the lure of Hollywood blockbusters, always preferring the singular and arthouse cinema, he nevertheless became a major box office attraction in 2004 with Pirates of the Caribbean. His performance as Jack Sparrow saw him channel his inner Keith Richards to winning effect. A sequel followed, then another, then two after that. To date, they have earned over $4.5 billion at the box office.
His only way to go back was to let the work speak. But it’s been a long time since he managed to do so, and his recent choices have proven to be poor: The teacher (2018), Minamata (2020). In the absence of a strong director to revitalize him – a Martin Scorsese for example or a Jane Campion – he arrives on each new set with his own baggage, then handles it accordingly, as Maïwenn can attest.
The first one Pirates of the Caribbean was great entertainment, the sequels are exponentially more so. Volume 6 can, at best, only stand still, and what’s the point of that? If it sinks, at least it will have plenty of water to do so.
