Margot Robbie revealed that Disney has pulled the plug on her female-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which has many speculating the move may have been to clear the way for another sequel starring Johnny Depp.
Disney axes Margot Robbie-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean reboot
In a new Vanity Fair cover story, actress Margot Robbie revealed that Disney on her female-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean movie written by her Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson, Variety reported.
In the summer of 2020, Variety reported that Disney was in early development on Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which would have been the sixth film in the franchise.
“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story — which we thought would’ve been really cool,” Robbie told Vanity Fair. “But I guess they don’t want to do it.”
Disney also had another new Pirates sequel project at the time, that was written by franchise veteran Ted Elliott and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.
Attached to both new Pirates projects is Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of all five previous blockbusters in the series. Last May, Bruckheimer told the Sunday Times both films were still in development–and that neither involved Johnny Depp.
But now, according to Robbie, her project has officially been killed.
Could a new Johnny Depp ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ sequel be in the works?
In the wake of Johnny Depp’s court victory, many are speculating that the reason for Disney killing the two Pirates of the Caribbean projects could be to clear the way for him to return to a starring role as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Altogether, the previous movies starring Johnny Depp grossed $3.07 billion internationally and $1.5 billion domestically.
Variety reported that foreign markets delivered a massive profit for the Depp-fronted Pirates movies. For example, 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales brought in $622 million in foreign markets and $172 million in the domestic total.
Each of the five films grossed more than $650 million individually worldwide, while Dead Man’s Chest and On Stranger Tides both topped the $1 billion mark.
All of these statistics go to support the notion that a Johnny Depp-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean film is a moneymaker, while a female-fronted lead could be a gamble comparatively.
With Depp vindicated after his court battle, it opens the door for Disney to bring him back into his iconic role.
