Disney Hellbent on Making Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Without Johnny Depp After Margot Robbie Movie Was Canceled, Working on Another Script

Once in a blue moon, a franchise takes shape that makes Hollywood regain its glorified status as a filmmaking factory. Pirates of the Caribbean was one such product that, under the care of Disney, touched soaring heights of success before crashing and burning in its upsetting sixth installment. Beginning in 2003, the Johnny Depp-helmed movie series ran for nearly two decades before the lead actor began drowning in controversy, and additional scrutiny on top of the already failed box-office attempt of 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales proved more trouble than worth.

The franchise then slowly crawled away from the spotlight, with no further news of any future installments until 2020, and Margot Robbie brought a short-lived glimmer of hope.

Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise Seeks a Soft Remake
It has been over half a decade since the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had been lost at sea with no signs of land or refuge. The building negativity surrounding the once-beloved movie series made producer extraordinaire Jerry Bruckheimer approach the radioactive franchise with precaution and little interest. But time and clarity brought a few new ideas to the table, and upon shaping them together, a female-led Pirates was offered up for Disney’s consideration and development.

Originally, the seventh installment was meant to be authored by the Birds of Prey writer, Christina Hodson, after the success of her DCEU all-female antihero action adventure. Margot Robbie was then brought on board while the original franchise actor began his long and weary courtroom battles across both hemispheres. Disney seemed more inclined toward scrapping all plans under mounting criticism while Bruckheimer, recognizing the potential of a revived Pirates franchise pushed for the project’s development at the company.

However, it was all for naught, since Robbie announced in November that she was no longer associated with the movie and hinted that Hodson’s approach toward the franchise’s female reboot wasn’t something that piqued the interest of the Disney execs. Instead, Bruckheimer has now confirmed proceeding with another version of the Pirates of the Caribbean narrative in the aftermath of Margot Robbie’s departure.

Jerry Bruckheimer Reveals Disney’s Affinity For the Pirates
In mid-November, Margot Robbie announced that the female Pirates movie had been tanked because “they don’t want to do it.” No further elaboration was offered as to why the decision was taken after the project was already in development for two years. Shortly later, Jerry Bruckheimer came forward with news that did nothing to solve the speculative mystery of the Hodson-Robbie film but instead served to inform the audience of another movie that is being developed in the former’s place.

“I think that that script will come forward at a certain point. We developed two different stories for Pirates and the other one’s going forward first, so that’s what we’re working on, to try to get that one made.”

If Bruckheimer’s words are to be taken in all their unintended implications, the script which is currently under development isn’t necessarily a confirmation of never getting to witness a female-centric Pirates of the Caribbean. As for the new movie, no details have been brought to the forefront by Disney and Johnny Depp’s involvement in the film has been left ambiguous by the producer. Disney, however, is dead set on getting the film off the ground by any means necessary.

Source: Collider