The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise continues to reinvent itself and is ready to be reborn with a completely original reboot!
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| Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios |
Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that the series will return for a sixth installment. News of a reboot was first announced in 2019. At the time, it was unclear whether Johnny Depp, who plays Captain Jack Sparrow, was involved in the project; however, he was dropped from the sequel following his legal battles in 2020 and 2022. While promoting his new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, alongside director Guy Ritchie, Bruckheimer was asked about potential reboots of Top Gun (which he also produced) and Pirates of the Caribbean. His words revealed quite a bit about the future of both franchises.
Pirates of the Caribbean and Top Gun, the future of the franchises in the words of Jerry Bruckheimer appear bright
"It is hard to say. You never really know,” he told ComicBook.com.
“Because with Top Gun, you have an iconic, brilliant actor [Tom Cruise]. And how many movies he'll make before he makes Top Gun, I can't tell you. But we're about to reboot Pirates of the Caribbean, so it's easier to put the cast together because you don't have to wait for certain actors.” In 2020, Depp was involved in a defamation lawsuit against The Sun over a 2018 article calling him a “wife beater,” which he ultimately lost. In 2022, Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard in court in Virginia for defamation, claiming that she had falsely implied that he was violent towards her in a 2018 Washington Post editorial titled “I spoke out against sexual violence – and faced the wrath of our culture. This must change."
The jury ultimately found in favor of Depp, but also agreed with Heard's counterclaim that Depp's lawyer had defamed her by describing her abuse allegations as a "farce." The possibility of Depp returning to the Pirates franchise was the subject of testimony during the trial. The actor was asked by Heard's lawyer: “If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, would nothing on this earth make you come back to work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean movie? ” “That's true,” Depp responded. While the legal battle was ongoing, Bruckheimer told the Times that Disney had no plans to bring Depp back to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. However, he added, “The future has yet to be decided.”
Disney executive Tina Newman said in a pre-recorded court deposition on May 19 that she didn't "know one way or the other" whether Depp was still being considered for a role in Pirates 6. Months after the trial concluded, Bruckheimer added in a separate interview that he would "love" Depp to return to the franchise. “I would love to have him in the film. He's a friend, a fantastic actor, and, unfortunately, personal lives get in the way of everything we do,” he said.
At one time, Margot Robbie was linked to lead a Pirates film, but the actress told Vanity Fair in November 2022 that the project was no longer in development. Weeks later, Bruckheimer explained, "We developed two scripts at the same time and Margot Robbie's script was a little further behind, but we'll do that in the future and focus on a more ensemble-focused Pirates movie right now."
Source: The Independent
