Ayo Edebiri rumoured to replace Johnny Depp as lead for Pirates of the Caribbean 6

Ayo Edebiri is rumoured to be the star of the next Pirates of the Caribbean film

It comes after much tumult surrounding the future of the franchise, after Depp distanced himself from Disney following their lack of support during his defamation trial against Amber Heard.

The actor was previously asked: "If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film?"

Depp replied: "That is true."

Back in 2020, the Hollywood Reporter said that Christina Hodson was working with Margot Robbie to bring in a new era for the franchise.

"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’ve been really cool," Robbie said of the project.

However, it ended up being short-lived, with Robbie saying: "But I guess they don't want to do it."

Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer later claimed the film was still set to be produced.

"It’s alive for me. It’s alive for Disney," he told 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."

And it seems that Bruckheimer might be correct, as outlets such as News.com.au and The Hollywood Handle have put Ayo Edebiri's name in the mix to lead the franchise's sixth film.

Whether or not there are any legs to this rumour remains to be seen, but if it's true then we can't wait to see it!