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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Escher Walcott

Johnny Depp pictured returning to his hometown in Kentucky amid claims he might return to Pirates Of the Caribbean

Johnny Depp was pictured visiting his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, over the weekend

(Picture: Jeff Day/Facebook)

Johnny Depp was pictured making a surprise visit to his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, over the weekend as he reunited with his loved ones.

Depp, 59, was seen posing for photos with fans during his trip as they were told to keep his visit a secret until his departure, Fox19Now reported. The actor had passed through en route to his next tourstop of Louisville with Jeff Beck.

Depp’s hometown return comes after he won his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in June, after he sued Heard, 36, over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed article.

It is now being rumoured that the actor is set “to return” to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which he was previously dropped from following his legal battle with Heard.

Depp reunited with loved ones in his hometown during a tour pitstop en route to Louisville (Jeff Day/Facebook)

Depp is reported to be in talks with Disney over a “$300 million deal” to step back into the role, which he first took on 17 years ago, before finally bowing out in the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales.

According to Poptopic, the actor was reached out to by Disney in the hopes that he would consider returning.

An insider said: “They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another pirate film or two.

“The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and a spin-off Disney Plus series about the early life of the Captain of The Black Pearl.”

The actor and musician was said to have told locals not to report his Kentucky visit until he left (Jeff Day/Facebook)

They added: “What I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.”

The source said that Disney reportedly also offered to give a “sizable donation” to a charity of Depp’s wishes in effort to coax him back into the role.

Following Depp’s boot from the sixth Pirates movie, he told the jury in the defamation trial that he would not work with Disney again, as he felt “guilty until proven innocent” by Disney executives.

Disney production chief Sean Bailey confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Depp was no longer part of the franchise in 2018, in a bid for a “new” direction of the movies.

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