Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Development Details And More

When "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" sailed into theaters back in 2003, did anyone really expect it to become such a major success? After all, it was based on a Disneyland ride, cost $140 million to make, and starred Johnny Depp — a respected actor but not yet a box office draw. Of course, audiences absolutely loved Depp's portrayal of drunken Captain Jack Sparrow, and the film earned a whopping $654 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing movie of the year domestically.

After that, Disney steered into sequel territory, creating an entire franchise revolving around Captain Jack and his motley crew. However, after a series of critical and financial disappointments, the series petered out with the fifth film, "Dead Men Tell No Tales." But will the Black Pearl ever set sail again? Is there a sixth film in store for our buccaneer buddies? Well, mateys, things look like they're moving in a positive direction, so put down that bottle of rum and read on for everything you need to know about "Pirates of the Caribbean 6."

Disney has been wanting to make a "Pirates of the Caribbean 6" for quite some time. In December 2010, Hitfix reported that the studio actually planned on filming "Pirates 5" and "Pirates 6" back to back, "Lord of the Rings"-style. Obviously, that didn't pan out, and with "Dead Men Tell No Tales" getting shellacked by critics and becoming the lowest-grossing "Pirates" film at the domestic box office and the second lowest-grossing installment worldwide, it appears that plans for a six film were temporarily scuttled.

However, the House of Mouse hasn't given up on the idea of another swashbuckling adventure. In 2018, the studio began assembling writers to pen a new script (more on this in a minute). In June 2023, Sean Bailey — then-president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production — told The New York Times that they were working on a new movie, saying, "We think we have a really good, exciting story that honors the films that have come before but also has something new to say." Then in March 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told ComicBook.com that "Pirates" was still moving forward, only it would be a reboot instead of a straight-up sequel.

Still, we have no clue when the movie will actually hit theaters. There's no director no attached, no cast announced, no official plot synopsis, and filming definitely hasn't started. Everything is very much in early pre-production, but we'll keep you updated when news breaks.

In December 2022, "Pirates" producer Jerry Bruckheimer told The Hollywood Reporter that they were close to getting started on a new movie featuring "a younger cast." He didn't elaborate further than that, but we're wondering — will Johnny Depp return as Captain Jack Sparrow?

Well, everybody knows Depp was involved in a very public defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. And according to Depp, accusations leveled at him by Heard had a major impact on his career. In 2018, the U.K. tabloid Daily Mail claimed that Depp was "out" as Jack Sparrow, and when this was brought up during the trial, Depp responded, "Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife beater. So I'm sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe."

What have the Disney suits said about this? In May 2020, Collider asked Jerry Bruckheimer about Depp's involvement in "Pirates 6," and he responded, "The one we're developing right now, we're not sure quite what Johnny's role is going to be." In December 2018, The Hollywood Reporter asked then-Disney exec Sean Bailey if the A-lister would return. His answer? "We want to bring in a new energy and vitality."

Now, it seems even less likely that Depp will be back. In May 2024, Bruckheimer spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the sixth "Pirates" movie and the plans for what was to come. "It's a reboot," he explained, "but if it was up to me, [Depp] would be in it." The implication here is that it isn't up to Bruckheimer and that Disney seemingly wants to sail in a different direction.

Real movement on the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" started in October 2018, when Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were tapped to write the screenplay. Reese and Wernick are two of the hottest writers in Hollywood, having penned all three "Deadpool" movies and both "Zombieland" flicks. According to then-Disney exec Sean Bailey, these two were brought onboard to make the franchise "punk rock again." However, by February 2019, the dynamic duo was out. 

A few months later, it was reported that Ted Elliott — who co-wrote four "Pirates" films — would be writing the script alongside Craig Mazin of "Chernobyl" fame. Then, word on the screenplay went kind of quiet until May 2020, when producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Collider, "We're working on a draft right now, and hopefully we'll get it shortly and give it to Disney, and hopefully they'll like it."

After the success of "The Last of Us," showrunner Mazin gave an interview to the L.A. Times where he dished a bit more on his "Pirates" take, describing it as bonkers — even for a "Pirates" movie. "We pitched it and thought there's no way they're buying it, it's too weird. And they did!" Mazin told the paper. "And then [Elliott] wrote a fantastic script, and the strike happened, and everyone's waiting around."

However, it appears Mazin is no longer the captain of the ship, as his script was held up by the Hollywood writers' strike of 2023. Now, the project has pivoted to Jeff Nathanson, who penned "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and both of the modern-day "Lion King" movies. "He's got an amazing third act," Jerry Bruckheimer told Entertainment Weekly about Nathanson's script. "We just gotta clean up the first and second, and then we'll get there."

Since "Pirates 6" is going to be a reboot, the series will need a new hero to fill Jack Sparrow's pirate boots. Could that character come in the form of Barbie herself? At one point, it was reported that Disney was considering a female-led "Pirates" movie with Margot Robbie as the lead. Is this movie the long-fabled sixth "Pirate" film, and is it still in the works?

Well, as it turns out, the female "Pirates of the Caribbean" was supposed to be a spinoff separate from this new reboot, with a script courtesy of Christina Hodson ("Bumblebee," "Birds of Prey," "The Flash"). However, in November 2022, Robbie threw cold water on the movie's chances of ever hitting theater screens. "We had an idea," she told Variety, "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."

However, producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently said there's still a chance we might see Robbie with a cutlass in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. Speaking with Collider in December 2022, the Hollywood titan explained that while Disney is moving ahead with a Robbie-less movie, "I think that [the Christina Hodson] script will come forward at a certain point." He said something similar in May 2024, telling Entertainment Weekly about "Pirates 6" and the Robbie movie, "We hope to get 'em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too."