Birdman original ending starred Johnny Depp as himself, trying to break free from Jack Sparrow

The actor is preparing to reprise his role in Pirates of the Caribbean 5

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

It might be leading the way to Oscars success but Birdman originally had a very different ending featuring none other than Captain Jack Sparrow.

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and co-writer Alexander Dinelaris had planned for the movie to end where it began, only with Johnny Depp sitting in his dressing room as himself, trying desperately to break free from the shackles of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Inarritu admitted last month that he had changed the film’s conclusion halfway through shooting because he decided it was an “embarrassing piece of s**t” but now, further details of his initial vision have emerged.

“The camera prowled like it did the whole film, and went backstage through the halls we’ve seen the whole time, and we’d get to the dressing room where literally Johnny Depp would be sitting looking in the mirror and putting on his Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton’s character) wig, and then the poster of Pirates of the Caribbean 5 would be in the back,” Dinelaris said on The Q&A Podcast.

“In Jack Sparrow’s voice [Depp would say], ‘What the f**k are we doing here, mate?’ It was going to be the satire of the endless loop of that.”

Thomson is a former superhero actor battling to earn a credible reputation in theatre. This ending suggests that Depp is also trying to rid himself of Pirates associations but cannot quite shake off Jack Sparrow’s grip, which probably explains why he was not keen to take part.

In reality, Depp is preparing for the next Pirates episode in 2017, while he will also reprise his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland 2.

The US actor has seen his latest films Mortdecai and Transcendence flop at the box office, sparking talk that he has “lost his mojo” in a similar way to Thomson in Birdman. Upcoming Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass could be Depp’s chance to get his critics back on side.

No need to worry whether Depp minds all this chatter about his waning career though because frankly, he “doesn’t give a f**k”.

“First, I reached a point where I cared so much and was so diligent in terms of approaching the work,” he told Details magazine last November . “Then you get to where you care so f**king much that it gets goddam beleaguering, you know?

“But then a great thing happens. Suddenly you care enough to not give a f**k because not giving a f**k, that’s the total liberation. Being game to try anything.”