Johnny Depp transforms into Captain Jack Sparrow for delighted fans outside courthouse

Johnny Depp may have said that he would not return to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow  in Pirates of the Caribbean for "$300 million and a million alpacas", but he got back in the skin of the character briefly. To fans' disappointment, it wasn't on a film set though.

Johnny briefly delighted some fans as he rolled back the clock and transformed into Captain Jack outside the Virginia courthouse, where he is currently fighting a multimillion-dollar defamation trial against ex-wife, actor Amber Heard. 

In a video posted by a fan on Twitter on Thursday, Johnny can be seen exiting the courthouse in his SUV. As fans waiting outside the court wave and cheer at him, his car slows down and he waves to them, acknowledging their cheers from the window. Johnny also thanks the fans for their support through the trial.

As a fan shouts, "You'll always be the Captain Jack Sparrow," Johnny quickly channels his iconic character and responds in the pirate's distinctive accent and tone, "He's still around somewhere I've seen him now and again." As the fans cheer at Johnny's impromptu transformation, the actor continues in his Jack Sparrow style, "Shows up now and again." As a fan reminds Johnny to not forget Jack's jar of dirt (a reference from the films), Johnny smiles and says, "Love you guys. Thank you, so much!"

Johnny played the popular character in five films of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which made $4.25 billion at the global box office, transforming Johnny into the highest-paid actor in the world at one time. The last film in the franchise was Dead Men Tell No Tales, which released in 2017.

Johnny has sued Amber for $50 million for allegedly defaming him a 2018 Washington Post article where she described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse. As per Johnny's legal team, even though Amber didn't name Johnny in the article, he lost work, including a planned Pirates of the Caribbean film and the Fantastic Beasts film series. Johnny has also alleged that Amber was abusive towards him when they were married.

Amber, in turn, has countersued Johnny for $100 million claiming she was a victim of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. Both trials are running concurrently in Virginia, and the verdict will be delivered on May 27.