Depp last starred in the franchise in 2017

Depp first starred as pirate Jack Sparrow in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, he then reprised the role for sequels Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, and On Stranger Tides, before making his final appearance in 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The A-lister was dropped from the franchise in 2018 after his ex-wife, Amber Heard, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post which indirectly accused Depp of domestic abuse, and set in motion several years of court proceedings.

Depp was awarded $10 million (£7.9m) in compensatory damages and $5 million (£3.9m) in punitive damages, later reduced to $350,000, and Heard was later awarded $2 million (£1.5m).

After several appeals, in December, Heard agreed to pay Depp $1 million (£823K), to bring the dispute to an end. Depp later decided to donate the money to charity.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bruckheimer has claimed that Depp is in talks to return.

"If he likes the way the part's written, I think he would do it," he told the outlet. "It's all about what's on the page, as we all know."

The rumours come amid Depp's return to the big screen, which began in 2023 with the French film Jeanne du Barry.

During a previous interview with Deadline, Bruckheimer was asked about the chances of Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow, and said: "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."

Bruckheimer has previously made it clear he’d "love" to have Depp back in the role.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if Disney would bring Depp back, Bruckheimer said he couldn't "answer that question", but personally, "I would love to have him in the movie".

He continued: "He’s a friend, a terrific actor and it’s unfortunate that personal lives creep into everything we do."

Depp's team, however, rubbished rumours of his return, tell NBC, the stories were "made up".

During his defamation trial, Heard’s lawyer Ben Rottenborn asked if it was true that Depp had said "if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film?", to which Depp confirmed: “That is true, Mr. Rottenborn.”