The sixth part of Pirates of the Caribbean has been forgotten in the Disney directors’ drawers for several years now. However, the studio was finally able to pull up anchor and start production with one big question hanging over it: Will Johnny Depp return to play Jack Sparrow again?
The last time fans saw Depp, he became the infamous Captain Sparrow It was in 2017, with Salazar’s Revenge. The film, whose great antagonist was Javier Bardem, convinced neither critics nor audiences and grossed $800 million at the box office, a not insignificant value but one that is below expectations.
After this cold reception, which showed certain signs of franchise exhaustion, Disney reconsidered the future of the saga. Depp’s scandal with his ex-wife Amber Heard had a special meaning in this sense; their subsequent court battle involving mutual allegations of domestic violence led the studio to expand the Pirates of the Caribbean universe in other ways beyond the adventures of Sparrow. The sixth part of Pirates of the Caribbean then ran into stagnant waters.
In June 2020, several American media outlets reported that Disney had given the green light for some kind of reformulation or spin-off with female characters, with Margot Robbie as the big star and Christina Hodson, who previously worked with the actress in Birds of Prey (and the fantastic Emancipation of Harley Quinn), responsible for the script. But after years of scandal, The project was ultimately canceled. “We thought it would have been great, but I guess they don’t want to do it,” Robbie himself said resignedly a few months ago.
Now the sixth part of the main saga is gaining strength again, after Craig Mazin, screenwriter of The Last of Us, assured this in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times Before the Corona pandemic, he presented the studio with an idea for the script. To his surprise, the studio not only decided to take on the project but also launched it with him at the helm as screenwriter.
“We pitched it and thought there was no way they were going to buy it. It was too strange. But they did it! “I wrote a fantastic script, even though the strike happened and everything has been at a standstill since then,” says Mazin.
The statements of the screenwriter of The Last of Us, whose second season was also forced to postpone its premiere until at least the first half of 2025, seem to be consistent with what Sean Bailey already commented last June It opened the door to the continuation of the saga.
The head of production at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production revealed at the time that there were already plans for a new Pirates of the Caribbean film. This, despite Depp confirming it during one of his trials with Heard, Returning to the role of Jack SparrowThe manager did not rule out any scenario without getting wet.
“We think we have a really good story and something exciting, which honors the previous films and also brings new things with them. Bailey said, confirming that the film will not be a reboot but will follow on from the five previous films, opening up the possibility of Depp’s character returning.
