Summary
- Jerry Bruckheimer teases two new Pirates of the Caribbean movies, one a Margot Robbie-led adventure and the other a reboot.
- Despite plans to move away from Jack Sparrow, Bruckheimer expresses desire for Johnny Depp's return to the franchise in the future.
- Depp's talent and friendship are commended by Bruckheimer, hinting at a possible comeback for the iconic character in upcoming films.
Producing legend Jerry Bruckheimer has now provided further clarity on the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, revealing that there are now two separate movies in development. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Bruckheimer revealed that a reboot is now in the works with a script written by Young Woman and the Sea scribe Jeff Nathanson, with the second project being the long-rumored Margot Robbie-led movie written by Birds of Prey’s Christina Hodson.
"It's two different movies. We hope to get 'em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too."
Bruckheimer went on to praise the vision of writer Jeff Nathanson, saying that he has “cracked” the reboot...but the script still needs some polishing.
“He’s cracked it. He’s got an amazing third act. We just gotta clean up the first and second and then we’ll get there. But he wrote a great, great third act.”
This most recent update from Bruckheimer reveals what Disney’s plan is for the Pirates of the Caribbean series without Jack Sparrow. Following the legal affairs of star Johnny Depp, the studio has now decided to move away from the hugely popular character and attempt to carve out something new for the franchise.
One such idea for something new is a movie led by Barbie star Margot Robbie, who has previously teased a “female-led” story on the high seas.
"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, but I guess they don't want to do it."
Jerry Bruckheimer Does Want Johnny Depp to Return to the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- Release Date
- May 23, 2017
- Director
- Joachim Rønning , Espen Sandberg
- Cast
- Johnny Depp , Javier Bardem , Geoffrey Rush , Brenton Thwaites , Kaya Scodelario , Kevin McNally
- Runtime
- 153
- Main Genre
- Action
- Writers
- Jeff Nathanson , Terry Rossio , Ted Elliott , Stuart Beattie , Jay Wolpert
- Studio
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Tagline
- This Memorial Day, dead men tell no tales
However, while the present plan is to leave Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow behind, Bruckheimer has stated that, if he gets his way, the actor and character will return to the series in the future.
“If it was up to me, of course. I love having Depp... He's a great actor and good friend... I've certainly spoken to him, but we'll see what happens.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: Does the Franchise Really Need Johnny Depp?
Johnny Depp has become a staple in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Do they still need him or can the franchise survive without his character?This is not the first time that the producer has praised Depp, with Bruckheimer having previously said that the A-lister would eventually “recover” from the fallout that’s come following the various legal issues stemming from his marriage to actress and Aquaman star Amber Heard.
"He’s just so good at what he does and actors recover from things like this. He’s a good individual and he’s a caring individual. He’s somebody that you can rely on and he’s just terrific. I think Johnny is an utter friend and an amazing artist and, again, you go through things in life you wish you hadn’t, but he’s still a talented artist."
The last we saw of Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was in 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are available to stream on Disney+.