Credit: DisneyIt has been revealed that Disney put a stop to a specific Pirates of the Caribbean act due to them not wanting it associated with the brand anymore.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has blown up to be larger than Disney could have ever expected, with five movies (starting. with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) making the House of Mouse an astounding $4.5 billion at the box office, it is not shocking to see the franchise now represented in every Disney park around the globe, and fans clamoring for more.
Recently, WWE star Paul Burchill spoke out on his run-in with Disney and how Mickey shut down his character bit entirely due to its relevance with the Disney films. While on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Burchill opened up on his pirate gimmick, stating, “I would have loved to have done more, I would have loved to be able to continue it, but I’m not sure that the bigger company than WWE was not too happy about it, so that’s where it ended”.
While he did not admit that Disney was the culprit, as the podcast went on, he confirmed it: “Yep, it was Disney, so it wasn’t gonna keep going for too long on network TV. It was a shame, but it was fine. The plan was to evolve it, make it more edgy, but still be a very [childlike] and directed character and just a fun kind of underneath babyface one.”
Burchill would come in swinging on a rope like a pirate, “And I walk out to the ring, and there’s this seventy-five-foot rope hanging from the ceiling, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I really do have a rope? Cool!’ And then my first time going, I realized that you have to wear gloves.” Overall, it seems that the WWE did have more plans for this pirate storyline, as they were certainly playing off the hype that Pirates of the Caribbean held in the mid to late 2000’s, but Disney shut it down.
You can watch the full podcast below:
The idea of tying in the pirate storyline to fighting and combat sports did not stop with Burchill. Just recently, boxing did the same with a promo for a ‘The Gypsy King’ (Tyson Fury) and ‘The Cat’ (Oleksandr Usyk) fight.
As for the future of Pirates of the Caribbean 6, things are not looking too bright.
Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is being rumored to be in development; however, there is no confirmation at this time as to what is happening with the film, but we do know a few important things regarding the movie’s future.
When Disney decided to drop Johnny Depp from the franchise due to his public abuse trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, fans were livid. Disney made the call before any verdict was made, showing that they cared more about their image rather than standing with their actor who had served them billions on a platter thanks to his swashbuckling and iconic portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow.
In the end, Disney’s move may have hurt them more than helped, as the actor was found to not be guilty, and hundreds of thousands were boycotting future films. To this day, comments from fans say that there is no Pirates of the Caribbean without Depp, putting Disney in a tough spot since Depp confirmed he would never return to the franchise after Disney’s actions, not even for $300 million.
Now, there are rumblings that Disney is thinking of having Depp return in a supporting role and not the lead. Regardless of what Disney wants, as we just noted, Depp has made it clear he will not return.
There have also been rumors that Ayo Edebiri will join the cast as a character called Anne, but no other information has been given on the size or function of the role. We do know that a script was written by Craig Mazin, and that Disney liked it, but this all took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike, and further developments have not been made public.
With fans wanting to see Depp as Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and with the unlikelihood of that coming to fruition, it will be interesting to see if Disney moves forward with the project. Disney CEO Bob Iger has come forward is regards to the company’s recent set of box office blunders noting that the company will be more selective with their storytelling, with the new head of live-action movies, David Greenbaum, posing a new question — “Does it have to be made?”.
If Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is destined to flop without Captain Jack Sparrow, then that answer does seem very simple. That being said, it appears that forward movement on the project is still progressing at this time.
Would you like to see a Pirates of the Caribbean 6, even without Johnny Depp?