Disney Denies Depp Replacement Being Sought For ‘Pirates 4′

When Disney chairman Dick Cook was ousted from the company a couple of weeks ago, Johnny Depp immediately expressed his displeasure at the move and suggested this could dent the chances of him coming back for the recently announced Pirates Of The Carribean: On Stranger Tides.

As Kirsten reported yesterday, there has been intense speculation since as to whether Depp will come back or whether Disney would have to find a replacement actor to take on the Captain Jack Sparrow role. Or alternatively change the lead character altogether.

MTV Movies even went so far as to imagine who that replacement could be. Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf were immediately ruled out due to not fitting, but James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Ben Whishaw, Anton Yelchin, and Robert Pattinson are all seen as possibilities thanks to the Fountain of Youth storyline making room for a younger star to take over.

According to Digital Spy, Disney has now denied the speculation that a replacement is being sought, calling it “completely unfounded.” However, I think the chances that Depp will sign on for Pirates 5 and Pirates 6 have now taken a serious downturn.