Johnny Depp Dresses as Captain Jack Sparrow, Visits Children's Hospital

Captain Jack Sparrow's back ... not in "Pirates of the Caribbean 6" necessarily -- but, Johnny Depp's resurrected the character to cheer up some kids going through a rough time.

The actor stopped by a children's hospital in San Sebastián, Spain ... dressed as his loveable pirate Captain Jack -- complete with the eyeliner, dreads and his slightly drunken walk.

Check out the video ... JD's got a cheerful hello for the doctors working hard at the locale -- appearing to drop the character later on to have a meaningful convo with some of the medical staff on-site.

He took a big group pic with the staff too ... capping off what was almost certainly an exciting video for staff and patients alike.

Worth noting ... Depp's out in Spain for the premiere of his new film "Modi - Three Days on the Wing of Madness" -- all about a chaotic 72 hours in the life of bohemian artist Amedeo Modigliani. While it doesn't star Depp, he's directing it -- just the second feature he's directed.

Many fans want to see Depp back onscreen in big roles too ... especially as Jack Sparrow -- though that's looking exceedingly unlikely these days.

Remember ... Johnny's basically been ostracized from Hollywood following his legal troubles with ex Amber Heard -- and, that includes Disney moving away from him as Jack.

Rumblings of other "Pirates of the Caribbean" flicks have persisted over the last couple years -- including a female-led version starring Margot Robbie -- but, there haven't been substantive talks of Johnny coming back.