Reports have been swirling this week that Johnny Depp might soon return for a new Pirates of the Caribbean film, and they've spread so widely that he apparently felt the need to speak up.
Several outlets had claimed that Disney was prepared to offer Depp $301 million to come back as Captain Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, in what might've been a big comeback role for the actor after his court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.
But it seems like that's not the case.
A representative for Depp shot down the rumours and told NBC News that "this is made up," reports E! News.
The $301-million price tag should've been enough to raise some eyebrows, especially since this topic came up during Depp's trial with Heard.
During the trial, Depp testified that he would not come back for $300 million and "1 million alpacas."
Heard's lawyer later pressed him on that exact fee, prompting the actor to crack up in court.
Depp starred as Jack Sparrow in all five of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films, including the latest one in 2017, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
The company cut ties with the actor a year later, after Heard published an op-ed in the Washington Post saying that she was a "public figure representing abuse." In a U.K. civil court in the case of John Christopher Depp II v. News Group Newspapers Ltd. and Dan Wootton, Depp lost on 12 out of 14 assault allegations against himself.
However, in the 2022 defamation trial between Heard and Depp, he sued Heard for the op-ed, claiming that she had defamed him and damaged his career with her allegations.
A jury ultimately agreed with him on the three defamation points, as well as one of hers, and he was awarded more than $10 million in damages in the case.
But while Depp may have won his court case against Heard, there's no guaranteeing that he'll be able to come back to the franchise he helped make famous.
In May, for example, Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer said there were no plans to bring him back "at this point," although he didn't rule out a return entirely.
Bruckheimer was speaking before the jury delivered its verdict, and he also acknowledged that Margot Robbie might soon step in to be the new face of the franchise.
"The future is yet to be decided," he said, per The Independent.
Depp is also currently involved in an L.A. lawsuit concerning an alleged assault of a crew member on the set of City of Lies in 2017.
