Life as a pirate holds no allure for Ayo Edebiri, especially after she was ensnared in the toxic fandom surrounding the "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga. In February 2024, the actress found herself at the epicenter of a spurious rumor, falsely reporting that she was in negotiations to succeed Johnny Depp in the beloved franchise. Depp had been publicly ousted by Disney following his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, which was marred by mutual allegations of abuse.
The gossip mill churned out tales of Edebiri joining the "Pirates of the Caribbean" post-Depp era, a rumor ignited by none other than Elon Musk, the owner of X, who captioned it with a scathing "Disney sucks." The fabricated story claimed that Edebiri was destined to step into Depp's shoes as Jack Sparrow for a sixth installment in the original series. However, conflicting whispers suggested that rather than replacing Depp's character, she was rumored to co-lead Margot Robbie's all-female spinoff—both projects first announced in 2020.
Regardless of the truth, Edebiri bore the brunt of hatred from die-hard "Pirates" fans and Musk loyalists. On her Instagram story, she revealed the harrowing experience of receiving "ludicrous death threats" and racist slurs in the wake of the false report a year prior. "Just reminiscing about when I endured some of the most outrageous death threats and racial epithets of my life—perhaps not the worst, but certainly among the top three—all over a phony reboot of a movie I'd never even heard of, thanks to this individual," Edebiri penned, sarcastically adding about Musk, "Hah! Not only is he a double Sieg Heil-ing fascist, but he's also an idiot. Oh well."
Currently, Edebiri is immersed in scripting the live-action "Barney" film for A24, in which she will also star. The triple threat—writer, director, and actress—recently helmed the Sundance feature "Opus."
As for the "Pirates" franchise, producer Jerry Bruckheimer confided to Entertainment Weekly in 2024 that ideally, Depp would return to reprise his iconic role as Jack Sparrow. "It's a reboot, but if it were my call, he'd be a part of it," Bruckheimer said of the two films in development. "I adore him. He's a great friend, an incredible artist with a one-of-a-kind presence. He crafted Captain Jack. It wasn't written on the page; it was his own twist, a blend of Pepé Le Pew and Keith Richards. That was his interpretation of Jack Sparrow."
