Johnny Depp's rep dismisses rumor of offer to return to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

June 28 (UPI) -- Johnny Depp's representative dismissed Tuesday a rumor that Disney was working on a $301 million offer for Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in its Pirates of Caribbean franchise.

Depp had played Sparrow in all five movies, including the latest one, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and an industry insider alleged Disney was working on the $301 million deal for him to return to the role in a sixth film, Poptopic.com reported earlier this month.

But a representative for Depp told NBC News on Tuesday "this is made up."

Last month, amid the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, and her defamation countersuit, Pirates of Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer was asked if Depp would return for future projects.

"Not at this point," Bruckheimer told The Sunday Times. "The future is yet to be decided."

A Virginia jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages from winning his side of the defamation trial on June 1 over Heard's statements in a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post claiming to be a survivor of domestic abuse. The verdict included $10 million compensatory damages and $5 million punitive, though the latter was reduced to a statutory cap of $350,000. Though Heard didn't name Depp in the article, Depp argued that she was clearly referring to him after obtaining a restraining order against him during their 2016 divorce proceedings.

Heard won $2 million from a counterclaim that she was defamed when her allegations were called an "elaborate hoax."

A judge finalized the verdict on Friday after the couple failed to reach a settlement.

Depp will return to court in July for a separate assault and battery lawsuit alleging he repeatedly hit a crew member during the filming of the 2018 crime-drama City of Lies.