What’s going on with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise? That’s a big question in Hollywood. Is Disney moving ahead with a spinoff film said to star Margot Robbie? Or is the studio going to go with a more traditional sequel and maybe bring back Johnny Depp? As of now, no one knows. But producer Jerry Bruckheimer is planning for whatever outcome anyway.
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In a new report from Variety, talking about Disney’s recent success with “Moana 2,” there was a quick blurb about the future of the live-action side of things. Namely, what’s going on with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” According to the report, Jerry Bruckheimer is moving forward with a new film in the franchise. However, considering he’s uncertain about whether or not Disney and Johnny Depp can mend fences, he’s currently developing two versions of a script at the same time—one with Depp and one without.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well aware about what’s going on with Johnny Depp. The actor went through a brutal defamation court case against his ex-wife Amber Heard. While Depp did end up winning the case, it seems as if both sides were up to some pretty horrible stuff. The clash between Depp and Heard led to many studios seemingly blacklisting Depp, including Disney cutting ties with the actor. He also lost a starring role in the “Harry Potter” spinoff, “Fantastic Beasts.”
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So, for Depp to come back to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, there would have to be a reconciliation between the actor and Disney. And it’s unclear now, even to someone like Bruckheimer, if or when that might happen.
For the time being, it appears that Bruckheimer is willing to move ahead with two versions of a script. The real question is whether or not there’s a huge demand for more ‘Pirates’ films. Obviously, the franchise has been a massive hit for Disney, but it was starting to get a little long in the tooth by the time the last film arrived. So, perhaps there really isn’t much of a demand for more, with or without Depp.
But for now, Bruckheimer is hedging his bets.