One of Disney’s most popular and profitable original franchises is the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Based on the popular Disney ride, the series has made five feature films earning over $4.5 Billion worldwide as well as various video games, comics, books, and toys. It is no wonder Disney wants to keep the series going with another film. But the series’ future is up in the air.
Aside from the now-canceled Margot Robbie film Disney is apparently developing what many assumed would be Pirates of the Caribbean 6 with many hopeful that the series’ lead Johnny Depp would somehow be convinced to return as franchise lead Captain Jack Sparrow.
Now it appears that we won’t see the legendary pirate captain in the next film as the franchise’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, seems to confirm our worst fears. During an interview while promoting his latest film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare he was asked about the future of Pirates; He stated:
“It’s hard to tell. You don’t know, you really don’t know. You don’t know how they come together. You just don’t know. Because with Top Gun you have an actor who is iconic and brilliant. And how many movies he does before he does Top Gun, I can’t tell you. But we’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.“
The likely reason for the reset is due to Johnny Depp not wanting to work with Disney following his public firing amid the legal troubles with his now ex-wife Amber Heard over her accusations of abuse. Despite winning his case, the actor and Disney still seem to be at odds. An agreement that would be beneficial to both parties was seemingly unobtainable.
The next film is set to be headed up by Craig Mazin and will reportedly star Ayo Edebiri. But much like the National Treasure series, if you don’t have the lead character/actor that is best associated with the franchise, fans could turn and walk away.
What do you think? Should the next film be a reboot? Should Disney bring back Depp? Or should Disney not even try to make a new film without Depp? Let us know.
Source: comicbook.com
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.