For years now it’s been clear that Disney was interested in doing more with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. But what was far less clear was what might happen with it. At one point there were at least two Pirates of the Caribbean movies in active development. Eventually, the studio decided to move forward with an idea from original Pirates trilogy co-writer Ted Elliot and The Last of Us’ scribe Craig Mazin, who says he didn’t think Disney would like their idea because it was so “weird.” And yet, apparently weird is what we’re going to get.
Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Craig Mazin doesn’t reveal any details about the plan for a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but he does confirm the big news that there is one. A script for the movie, at least a draft of one, was completed prior to the strike, based on an idea that Mazin himself thought nobody would accept. He explained…
We pitched it and thought there’s no way they’re buying it, it’s too weird. And they did! And then he wrote a fantastic script and the strike happened and everyone’s waiting around.
As a fan of franchises that are willing to take risks, the description of Prates 6 as “weird” is enough to give me at least some hope that the new movie could be great. I absolutely adore Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I think I got it on CinemaBlend’s list of the 100 best movies of the 2000s through sheer force of my own will. Having said that, I don’t love any of the sequels nearly as much.
One of the reasons for that is that I feel like the sequels played it too safe, and it certainly doesn’t sound like that is what is happening here. Mazin himself thinks the script is great, and he’s a pretty good writer, so I feel like that’s a solid endorsement.
Of course, there are still a lot of questions about Pirates of the Caribbean 6. All signs have previously been that Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow will not appear, but franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer has made it clear he wants to see Depp back. If the new Pirates movie doesn’t include Sparrow, is this a complete franchise reboot? Will it star other characters we know, or be something in the same universe as the previous films, but otherwise entirely fresh?
Whatever it was about this idea that appealed to Disney, they seemingly liked it more than an idea from Margot Robbie that would have seen her lead a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. That project, while reportedly not entirely dead, is at least on the back burner while attention is given to this other idea.
Of course, right now, nothing is happening with the movie. If the script needs more work, no writers can work on it due to the strike. Even if the movie was ready to go into production, there are currently no actors available to be in it due to their own strike.