Margot Robbie Says Her ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Movie Is Dead in the Water
It seems there is no end to the iconic roles that Margot Robbie is bringing to screens. The Academy-Award-nominated actor has played everyone from disgraced Olympian, Tonya Harding, to DC villain Harley Quinn, and now, Barbie. But it seems there is one leading role Robbie won’t be playing—the swashbuckling new star of a female-led Pirates of the Caribbean.
Margot Robbie’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ was not the only franchise reboot in the works
When the project was initially announced back in 2020, The Hollywood Reporter made clear that the new Pirates of the Caribbean was not intended as a spinoff from the franchise which famously stars Johnny Depp. Instead, it was to be a new story with new characters penned by Birds of Prey writer, Christina Hodson. And while the film’s plot has never come to light, Robbie says the idea was to have a predominantly female cast. The article also specifies that it was inspired by the iconic Disneyland ride “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Hodson and Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean project has not been the only one in the works, however. Back in 2018, Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were rumored to be writing a new script for the franchise, but they bowed out shortly thereafter. Then in 2019, Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin was said to be captaining another reboot along with writer Ted Elliot.
Margot Robbie says female-led ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is no longer in development at Disney
During Robbie’s recent interview for Vanity Fair‘s December cover, the actor says the project is dead in the water. “We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago,” Robbie says, describing the idea to tell the story with a female lead. “We thought [it] wouldve been really cool, but I guess [Disney doesn’t] want to do it.”
Both the Mazin/Elliot and Robbie/Hodson projects were confirmed with Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer back in May. Yet only the Manzin/Elliot project is still listed as in development on IMDb.
As of publication, Disney hasn’t shared why Hodson and Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean was shelved.
Will Johnny Depp be back as Jack Sparrow in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise?
In the wake of Depp’s highly publicized defamation trial against ex-wife, Amber Heard, his return as the iconic Jack Sparrow has been rumored. The last time Depp played Sparrow was in the franchise’s fifth installment, 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales. He was then expected to reprise his role in Pirates of the Caribbean 6. But he testified in court that Disney dropped him following Heard’s accusations.
All viable sources claim that Johnny Depp will not return as Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This includes Depp, who made such claims during the trial (Vanity Fair). However, the rumors persist.
In May, Bruckheimer was asked if Depp would return as Sparrow. And his answer was nothing if not a door left open: “Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided” (The Sunday Times via Variety). Then in June, a former Disney executive told People that Depp’s return seemed certain. And then there is the Change.org petition circulating that bears the signatures of over 800,000 fans begging for Depp to reprise his role. In the words of Sparrow, “I think I feel a change in the winds, says I.”
