The Bear star Ayo Edebiri reportedly replacing Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean films

Disney is in the process of casting a new pirate to fill the void Johnny Depp left with one award-winning actress said to be the frontrunner.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. Picture: Disney

Disney is in the process of casting a new pirate to fill the void Johnny Depp left when they axed him from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – and one award-winning actress appears to be the frontrunner.

According to various outlets, the studio is considering Ayo Edebiri to follow in Depp’s footsteps in the upcoming instalment of the franchise, tentatively titled Pirates 6.

The actress – best known for starring on comedy-drama The Bear, which won her a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy this year – is reportedly tipped to play a character named Anne, who is said to be based on real-life pirate Anne Bonny.

The upcoming female-led ‘PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN’ movie is still in the works at Disney.

Ayo Edebiri is being eyed to star as a character named Anne. They want a younger cast of pirates looking for a hidden treasure.

(Via: @RPK_NEWS1) pic.twitter.com/LQjtaQc7cC

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) February 5, 2024

Pirates 6 is believed to be a female-fronted film with a focus on a younger cast of pirates looking for hidden treasure.

Back in 2020, Variety reported Disney would produce two separate Pirates of the Caribbean reboots, one of which would have a strong female cast led by Margot Robbie.

Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced all five Johnny Depp-led Pirates of the Caribbean films, was attached to both projects. But in 2022, Robbie told Vanity Fair that the studio “don’t want to do it” anymore.

“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led – not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story – which we thought would have been really cool,” she told magazine. “But I guess they [Disney] don’t want to do it.”

Ayo Edebiri won an Emmy in January for her role in The Bear. Picture: Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Edebiri and The Bear co-star Jeremy Allen White also won Golden Globes this year for their roles on the show. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

In a separate follow-up interview, Bruckheimer insisted the film would still be made.

“It’s alive for me. It’s alive for Disney,” the Hollywood producer said, according to The Sun.

“I’m sure she was disappointed it didn’t go first, or maybe not because she’s very busy, so it might be a blessing to push this a bit. We believe we’ll get it made. It’s a very strong story.”

Edebiri would join the franchise off the back of her success on the FX series The Bear, in which she plays chef Sydney Adamu opposite Jeremy Allen White, a famous chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage his deceased brother’s sandwich shop.

Ayo Edebiri plays chef Sydney Adamu on the show. Picture: FX

Edebiri has also voiced characters in Big Mouth, Clone High, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

Depp was axed from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in 2020 as domestic violence allegations were made against him by his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. Picture: Disney

He would later sue her for defamation and during the court trial in 2022, he reflected on Disney’s decision to axe him from the films.

“Captain Jack Sparrow was a character that I had built from the ground up and was something that I put a lot of — you put a lot of yourself into characters,” he told the jury.

“And also having worked on those films with those people, and having put a lot of my own rewriting, dialogue, scenes, and jokes and whatever they are.

“I didn’t quite understand how, after that long relationship, and quite a successful relationship, certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent.”

Originally published as The Bear star Ayo Edebiri reportedly replacing Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean films