Entertainment
Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow image from Pirates of the Caribbean graces Disneyland after court victory-Dominique Hines-Entertainment – Metro
Sparrow’s back – sort of!
Jack Sparrow found his way back onto the Disney castle (Picture: AP; @deppressead)
An image of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow has been projected onto the Disneyland Paris Castle following his triumph in the defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
The image was previously removed after allegations that the actor was a ‘wife beater’ from 2016.
The damning claims led to Disney cutting ties with Johnny, who famously played Sparrow in the Pirates Of The Caribbean film franchise.
But since his recent court victory over Aquaman star Amber, he seems to be firmly back in the fairytale fold with the entertainment company.
The enormous image was projected during an impressive Pirates of the Caribbean display featuring fireworks and pyrotechnics in which a line spoken by Sparrow could also be heard.
Disney ditched the star less than a week after Amber, 36, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post, which Johnny argued suggested he was abusive towards her.
Johnny as the iconic Jack Sparrow in 2003 (Picture: Disney/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
He also said he fell out of favour with Hollywood because of the article and lost his multi-million pound film career.
He claimed that Amber calling herself a ‘public figure representing domestic abuse’ caused him to lose his role of Sparrow in the blockbuster, which is why he was suing the actress.
In 2018, Disney production chief Sean Bailey confirmed that Johnny was no longer a part of the franchise’s future plans.
He told The Hollywood Reporter, ‘We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason (writers) Paul (Wernick) and Rhett (Reese) are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.’
Johnny’s Hollywood career is expected to be reinvigorated following his court win last month (Picture: Getty Images)
Amber Heard, speaking about the trial to the Today show last week, says she will appeal the verdict (Picture: NBC News)
But fans were cynical about the official line that Johnny’s removal was just about reinvigorating the blockbuster. They have tirelessly demanded that the company reinstate him into the role and apologise.
The actor, who debuted a newly clean-shaven look while rocking out with Jeff Beck at a show in Finland, also wasn’t buying it.
He said in his court case: ‘Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife-beater. So I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe.
Rocking out: The actor showed off a new clean-shaven look over the weekend as he performed on stage at the Helsinki Blues Festival in Finland,(Picture: EPA)
‘The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point.’
Last month, a Virginia court jury returned a verdict in favour of Depp and found the Aquaman actress did defame him with her op-ed. They ordered her ex to pay him $15m in damages, while Amber was also awarded $2m in damages.
The verdict is expected to reinvigorate his career and get film roles back on the table.
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However, if Disney expects to lure the star back with gestures such as the image projection – it’s unlikely that they will be succesful.
During the highly-publicised trial, the star told Amber’s lawyer during cross-examination that ‘nothing on this earth’, not even ‘$300million and a million alpacas’ could get him to work with Disney on another Pirates of the Caribbean film.
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