Johnny Depp aka Captain Jack Sparrow, one of the most-loved Disney character has his own share of controversies. From the controversy surrounding Depp’s private life, with ex-wife Amber Heard having accused him of domestic abuse to rumours of being to fired from the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean 6, the much loved-actor can’t seem to get away with a clean sheet. In 2018 rumours sprouted that Johnny Depp had been dropped as Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, these rumours were then confirmed by Disney’s live-action production chief Sean Bailey.

The Hollywood Reporter asked him, “You've hired Deadpool scribes, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, to work on a possible Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. Can Pirates survive without Johnny Depp?” Bailey replied: “We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants.”

He added, “I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that's what I've tasked them with.”

Given Depp’s exit from his one-eyed pirate role, Forbes now estimates that Depp’s exit has made Disney save a few million. According to estimates, Disney has saved $90 million by dropping Depp, which is his reported salary per Pirates of the Caribbean movie in recent years.

Depp’s last Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales registered a box office haul of almost $800 million, well below the over $1 billion totals of the franchise’s second and fourth films, and the $963 million haul of the third one. Although Disney is certainly not hurting for money, it seems that the mass media company has an eye for a different outlook which doesn’t include Depp.

According to reports, Disney has hired the writers of Deadpool, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese for the new film, in the hopes that it will give an uplift to the old franchise a new life.