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Credit: DisneyPirates of the Caribbean is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
Most of the success of the first five films– which have grossed more than $4.5 billion at the box office— have to do with the performance of Johnny Depp in his portrayal as Captain Jack Sparrow.
All five movies made in the franchise starred Johnny Depp, and they include: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
The film franchise became the first to produce two or more movies that grossed over $1 billion, but there have been plenty of rumors and reports about the future of the franchise as it moves forward, potentially without Captain Jack Sparrow.
Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff idea is strange, to say the least
There have been numerous rumors about what might hapepn in the future with the franchise, but the newest one might be the strangest of all.
In a recent interview with EW, former Pirates actor Jack Davenport revealed that he’d love for Disney to do “reboot” with a spinoff shaped around Commodore Norrington.
“A snowball in hell has a stronger chance of survival than the Commodore Norrington reboot, but sure,” Davenport said with a laugh. Calling out Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer, he added, “Jerry, if you’re watching, which I know you’re not, I’m there. Yes, you can put me back in brigade, I’ll do it.”
Though Davenport admitted that the chances of this happening are low, Disney has already shown in the past a propencity to come up with strange ideas.
The company has brought characters back from the dead in other respects, including Marvel and Star Wars, and it would certainly be a storyline that would turn a lot of heads.
But, with Davenport admitting that a Commodore Norrington reboot– the character was, perhaps, Captain Jack Sparrow’s biggest enemy at times, especially in the first film– it does leave fans wondering what might might be on the horizon for the franchise.
Could Johnny Depp still return to Pirates of the Caribbean?
Of course, this is the biggest hope from every single fan of the franchise.
Johnny Depp has made the role of Captain Jack Sparrow one that is absolutely adored and iconic. Captain Jack Sparrow is the character who made the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise what it is today, and there are no doubts about that.
However, there are major obstacles standing in the way of Johnny Depp returning to The Walt Disney Company.
Last year, people across the world tuned in to see the proceedings of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard. The defamation trial ended with Mr Depp being awarded $10.35 million in compensatory damages, and Amber Heard eventually settled outside of court.
Even with the defamation trial over and fans hoping for a reunion, Disney and Johnny Depp have had little conversation behind the scenes. As a matter of fact, it has been reported that all of Hollywood has blacklisted Johnny Depp and that the actor may not ever appear in an American film again.
While most insiders do still believe that there’s a chance he’ll someday return to the U.S. and star in movies, Depp’s run with studios has not been great.
Warner Bros. cut him from the Fantastic Beasts franchise and replaced him with Mads Mikkelsen. In addition, Depp was reportedly tough to work with during the filming of the last Pirates of the Caribbean film, and this has made Disney skeptical of reaching out to the actor, especially when you couple that will the allegations set forth by Amber Heard.
Though fans are holding out hope, it would seem at this point that Disney and Johnny Depp are both on opposite ends of the spectrum, and neither party is willing to sacrifice to make a reunion work.
In addition to his work in Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp has also starred in several more Disney films, including Ed Wood (1994), Finding Neverland (2004), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Lone Ranger (2011), Into the Woods (2014), and Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016).
The father of Lily-Rose Depp and John Christopher “Jack” Depp III was named a Disney Legend in 2015, and he is the only actor to have three of his characters appear in the Disney Infinity series. He was mentioned in the Hannah Montana episode “That’s What Friends Are For?“. He is mentioned in Jessie as being Zuri Ross‘s godfather, according to Disney Fandom.
Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom could take over Pirates of the Caribbean
As we’ve mentioned, there have been several rumors swriling about the future of the franchise itself.
Pirates of the Caribbean Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that there “were two scripts being developed.” One of the scripts had Margot Robbie taking over as the lead role, giving a female flare to the franchise. That particular script, according to Bruckheimer was put on the backburner.
“I think that that script will come forward at a certain point,” Bruckheimer said. “We developed two different stories for ‘Pirates’ and the other one’s going forward first, so that’s what we’re working on, to try to get that one made.”
The details surrounding the other script have been murky, to say the least.
Dwayne Johnson has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Johnny Depp and there have been multiple reports that Disney could be looking to go younger with stars like Dylan O’Brien and Maya Hawke potentially taking on prominent roles.
A previous report from Starte Facts indicates that Disney could be reaching out to Dylan O’Brien to potentially “revive” the franchise. O’Brien is known for his role in MTV’s Teen Wolf, as well as the Maze Runner franchise.
“However, as much as fans loved the movies, Pirates of the Caribbean had seen a steady decline from the release of its first movie; with the last movie they released grossing the lowest of them all. There were several factors to blame for the slow downfall of the franchise, this included a lack of clarity in the plot of the movie that made them hard to tie together and left big plot holes that viewers couldn’t ignore.”
But, the rumor that has gotten the most traction, it seems, is one that could see the return of Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann Turner) and Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) reprise their roles and step in as the main characters.
For those who don’t remember, at the end of the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean, the end credits scene showed Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann Turner sleeping in their room after Will’s curse had been broken. A mysterious shadow was seen in the room, potentially foreshadowing to another curse or opponent for the couple in the future.
At this time, Disney has yet to confirm anything.
Will Pirates of the Caribbean 6 be canceled?
Ultimately, Disney knows that it is walking on a minefield when it comes to making a sixth installment of the franchise.
While there have been plenty of rumors, the company has yet to come forward with a concrete storyline. Though a script being developed certainly seems like a step in the right direction, it doesn’t guarantee that a film will be produced.
There have been countless films and ideas for sequels in the past-– both in Disney and throughout Hollywood– that have gotten a script written just for them to fall through. This could be no different.
It has already been six years since the last Pirates of the Caribbean film was made and it would stand to reason that it will at least be 2025 before the next one could be produced. That’s already eight years.
If production of the script falls behind any more, we could be talking about close to (or more than) a decade between the time that the last film was released and this upcoming one. At this point, would Disney think the potential backlash for a film without Johnny Depp is just too much and they decide to cut bait and let the series stay put?
There have also been rumors that a Disney+ series could be developed, similar to the ones we’ve seen produced by Marvel Studios and Lucasfilms over the cours of the last few years.
This series, of course, would not include Johnny Depp and would be an answer to having the franchise continue without a sixth film being made. At this time, though, we have no confirmation that a Disney+ series will be developed.
Of course, the film franchise is based on the beloved Disney Park attraction, which can be experienced at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
When Walt Disney originally designed the attraction in the 1950s, he imagined it as a wax museum and a walk-through adventure. However, after the success of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Disney and his team of Imagineers decided that Audio-Animatronics—Walt’s latest animation technology—was the most imaginative way to tell a rousing pirate story.
On March 18, 1967, Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Disneyland Park. Thanks to the highly detailed scenes, lavish special effects and memorable characters, the attraction earned rave reviews and has remained a beloved classic ever since.
What do you think of the latest surrounding the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!