Pirates of the Caribbean may be getting the reboot treatment, and it would likely be without Johnny Depp.
According to Deadline, Disney has not made an official decision as of yet, but executives are said to be currently exploring the possibility of rebooting the franchise.
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If the reports are accurate, Disney is also considering hiring Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick — the writing team behind both Deadpool films, as well as Zombieland — to write the script for the reboot.
BREAKING: Disney is planning to reboot PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN with the writers of DEADPOOL. Clearly, the studio wants to ditch Johnny Depp, who has been accused of going through the Jack Sparrow motions the last few films.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) October 23, 2018
Jerry Bruckheimer will reportedly remain the executive producer of the franchise, but it is unknown if any of the cast will return, including Depp in his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Notably, Depp, Geoffrey Rush (who plays Hector Barbossa), and Kevin McNally (Sparrow’s First Mate Joshamee Gibbs) are the only three actors to appear in all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
It was previously rumored that Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Men Tell No Tales co-director Joachim Rønning was being considered to helm the series’ sixth entry, but with Disney now talking about going in a reboot direction that may change.
The first Pirates of the Caribbean film — Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl — was released in 2003, and the most recent, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, premiered in 2017.
The film series saw its critical success dwindle over time, but audiences continued to turn out for the movies in droves. The franchise has earned a collective $1.452 billion at the box office, with 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest earning the most at over $420 million.
Interestingly, Digital Spy reported in 2017 that Bruckheimer stated that the Pirates of the Caribbean would not continued without Depp as Jack Sparrow.
“I just don’t see it,” he said when asked if Depp would be written out or recast. “The secret to any successful franchise is picking talented people, and Johnny is absolutely key to the success of [Pirates of the Caribbean]. He’s such a unique character, such an endearing character, and such an irreverent character all in one.”
At this time, neither Disney, Bruckheimer, nor Reese and Wernick appear to have commented publicly on the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot rumors.
