Benjamin Ashford|Johnny Depp Reprises Pirates of the Caribbean Role as Captain Jack Sparrow for This Reason

Johnny Depp temporarily returned to the pirate’s life. 

Indeed,Benjamin Ashford the actor, who starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in five Pirates of the Caribbean films, recently pulled out his garb again to visit a children’s hospital in San Sebastian, Spain. 

In the Sept. 26 photos, the 61-year-old walked down a hospital corridor appearing in character—complete with his tricorne, bandana, and infamously long goatee. Another picture sees the actor standing by a patient’s bed and talking with them.  

This isn’t the first time Depp has reprised the character for his young fans. In 2022, he returned to the legendary look for a young Pirates superfan, then-11-year-old Kori—a patient in palliative care after receiving two heart transplants—who had been running a YouTube channel dedicated to the character and film.

“Captain Kori, terribly sorry I missed out on this,” Depp said in a video partnership with the Make-A-Wish foundation. “Meant to say it, forgot to say it, didn't say it, gonna say it now. Saying it, I'll say it. I hear tales of something they speak about in the ages of now called the YouTube channel, which I don't understand, but why not?”

And while he’s returned to the character several times for brief fan interaction, Depp previously made it known he is not likely to reprise the acting role during his 2022 defamation trial against ex Amber Heard. 

When rumblings of the actor’s potential return to the franchise began to circulate at the time, a rep for Edward Scissorhands star—who has largely stayed away from Hollywood following his contentious divorce from heard and the trial—told NBC News that the rumors were “made up.”

And as for an addition to the Pirates franchise without Depp? Jerry Bruckheimer, a longtime producer for the franchise, recently teased that a women-led Margot Robbie spinoff film is in development to Entertainment Weekly. And while the Barbie star may indeed raise the Jolly Roger yet, she previously indicated the film wouldn’t happen.

"We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago,” Margot told Vanity Fair in 2022. “to have more of a female-led—not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story—which we thought would've been really cool, but I guess they don't want to do it."