Amber Heard 'Furious' Over Johnny Depp's $22.5 Million 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Film Deal, Source Claims

Johnny Depp is said to be edging closer to a $22.5 million return as Captain Jack Sparrow – a prospect sources exclusively tell OK! has left his ex-wife Amber Heard "furious" after their legal battles reshaped both stars' careers.

The actor, 63, is in talks about a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, which will potentially restore Depp to the Disney franchise that made him a fortune before he was frozen out of the series amid his legal woes with actress Heard, 40.

The discussions come four years after Depp won most of his U.S. defamation case against Heard, while she prevailed on one counterclaim, and six years after Depp lost a U.K. libel case.

A source familiar with the situation told us Heard was "raging" at the prospect of Depp receiving a blockbuster payday after years in which their court battles dominated headlines.

The Hollywood insider added: "For Amber, the idea that Johnny could simply walk back into Pirates for more than $20 million is difficult. She feels the public conversation around their relationship has had lasting consequences, so seeing his career return to that level would inevitably stir strong emotions. In short, she's furious this could happen."

Bruckheimer has confirmed negotiations are under way. He told Deadline: "We're talking with Johnny, we're working on a screenplay, and hopefully we can get this done."

A return would represent a reversal for Depp, who once testified that he would not go back to the Pirates franchise even for "$300 million and a million alpacas."

The five Pirates films, beginning in 2003, grossed about $4.5 billion worldwide, while Depp reportedly earned $300 million from the series.

During Depp's 2022 Virginia trial against Heard, his agent Jack Whigham said the actor had been lined up for a $22.5 million fee for a sixth installment before the deal collapsed.

Whigham testified: "It was trending badly in the late fall on behalf of Disney. But Jerry Bruckheimer and I were lobbying to make it happen, and so we had hope. And it became clear to me in early 2019 that it was over."

Depp sued Heard over a 2018 Washington Post opinion article in which she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse, without naming him.

A jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages, later reduced, while Heard received $2 million on one counterclaim. The pair settled their appeals.

Two years earlier, Depp lost a U.K. libel action against the publisher of The Sun over an article describing him as a "wife beater." A judge found the description was substantially true under the standard applied in that case.

Depp's Hollywood studio career dramatically contracted during the controversy. Warner Bros asked him to leave the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series, although Depp continued working in independent productions, including Waiting for the Barbarians, Jeanne du Barry and Modì.

Depp has since moved toward major projects again. He is due to play Ebenezer Scrooge in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West, and has a role in the thriller Day Drinker, scheduled for 2027.

Another source said the scale of a possible Pirates deal had intensified Heard's reaction. The source added: "This is not just another film role. Pirates was the symbol of Johnny at the height of his power, and a return on that salary would be seen as Hollywood restoring him to a position many thought he had lost."