Margot Robbie Has Jumped Ship On A Pirates Of The Caribbean Sequel

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise is a rip-roaring set of movies that have performed way better than anybody could have expected, especially considering that the movies are based on an ancient Disney attraction. According to The Numbers, the five movies that currently make up the "Pirates" franchise have made over $4.5 billion, so it is only a matter of time before audiences are treated to yet another movie full of parlays, magic, quips, and, of course, that immediately recognizable "Pirates" theme song whenever the action gets good.

The last "Pirates" movie came out in 2017 with "Dead Men Tell No Tales." Since then, Margot Robbie had long been attached to a sequel, with The Hollywood Reporter noting in 2020 that Robbie would have been teaming up with "Birds of Prey" writer Christina Hodson for an all-female iteration of the swashbuckling series. Unfortunately, it looks like this project has been cast overboard by Robbie's own admission, but what happened, and will there still be another "Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Earlier this year, in May 2022, "Pirates of the Caribbean" producer Jerry Bruckheimer told The Sunday Times (via Variety), "Yes. We're talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts — one with her, one without." Bruckheimer was then asked to address the elephant in the room, Johnny Depp, who was going through a very public court ordeal, and whether or not he would be returning to the franchise. Bruckheimer answered, "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided."

However, it seems like Disney may have decided to go with the other aforementioned script from Bruckheimer's earlier statement. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Margot Robbie clarified the current status of her "Pirates" film and said, "We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story — which we thought would've been really cool, but I guess they don't want to do it."

In other words, it seems like Disney is no longer pursuing a Robbie-led version of "Pirates," and chances are that the next film will probably be featuring Depp, who has survived this year's court circus relatively unscathed. Still, it would have been interesting to see how Robbie would have approached the role since fans have already gotten a chance to see her play an erratic and colorful character.