Pirates Of The Caribbean: Disney Reportedly Considering Reboot Movie With Deadpool Writers
Looks like Disney is on the hunt to uncover more buried treasure.
First reported by Deadline, the House of Mouse is said to be exploring the idea of creating a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot film, having already set sights on a pair of scribes to bring the project to life: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the screenwriting duo who penned Deadpool and Deadpool 2.
The outlet also notes that Jerry Bruckheimer will serve as the producer of the Pirates reboot, should it get the green light.
Disney didn't comment on the news, and sources stress that nothing is set in stone as of this writing. This is simply industry chatter, with emphasis being placed on the possibility that a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot written by Reese and Wernick will come to fruition rather than a guarantee that it will.
It's a little shocking to hear that Disney is thinking about rebooting Pirates of the Caribbean. The franchise only began 15 years ago with 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and has spanned just five films. It's not as if Pirates is some old, rusty cinematic relic that needs its dust shaken off, its hinges greased, and its surfaced polished up to a high shine. If the franchise were a person, it wouldn't be old enough to legally drive a car in the U.S. without a licensed adult in the passenger seat. It wouldn't even be able to see an R-rated movie unaccompanied! Or buy lottery tickets! Or vote!
From a financial standpoint, however, a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot is a smart move. The Pirates franchise overall has grossed over $1.45 billion domestically and more than $4.52 billion worldwide, and its two best-performing installments On Stranger Tides and Dead Man's Chest both earned more than $1 billion internationally. Every film in the series — even last year's domestic disappointment Dead Men Tell No Tales – has yielded $650 million or more across the globe. Revisiting the franchise to create another swashbuckling adventure, one written by the same guys who helped reinvent the superhero movie genre with their pair of Deadpool pics, one that could potentially bring in another billion-plus dollars in revenue? Yeah, we can see what Disney brass were thinking when they thought of putting another Pirates movie into motion.
The only thing that could throw a wrench in Disney's plans is a little someone by the name of Johnny Depp, who has top-lined the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as the swaggering, rum-drinking, Keith Richards-esque pirate Captain Jack Sparrow since the very beginning. Some might argue that a Pirates film wouldn't feel the same without Depp's Jack stumbling about and fighting off hordes of enemy sailors, but many people out there are none too happy that the actor has a place in Hollywood at the moment. A sizable group of Harry Potter fans are outraged that Depp is involved in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel The Crimes of Grindelwald, so much so that a few are planning to boycott the movie altogether. Whether or not Disney decides to cast Depp in the potential Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, backlash seems inevitable, as some may be disappointed if he isn't in the film and others will be upset if he is. It's a tough spot for the House of Mouse to be in.
Now, if Disney and writers Reese and Wernick choose to completely revamp Pirates by setting the film, say, 20 years in the future and centering the story around Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Turner's (Keira Knightley) son or daughter, things get far less sticky. It's a simple but proven-effective premise for a reboot, offers a clean slate for creative exploration, allows for a whole new generation of moviegoers to experience the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for themselves, and skirts around any negative responses that might pop up.
Again, Disney hasn't confirmed anything just yet, so it's best to sit tight and wait until the company makes a formal announcement regarding the potential Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. While you wait, check out all the Easter eggs you missed in the franchise's five entries.