Summary

  • Co-writers Craig Mazin and Ted Elliot have a "weird" and exciting pitch for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, which Disney bought.
  • The future of the franchise has been unclear after the disappointing reception to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Depp's subsequent legal controversies, but Mazin's latest comment is a positive sign for the franchise's future.
  • It's still unclear if Depp will return as Jack Sparrow, and work on the new film cannot resume until the WGA strike is over.

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 co-writer Craig Mazin, who is best known as the co-creator of HBO's The Last Of Us, teases his take on the popular Disney franchise. After first getting its start back in 2003, the story of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow has now continued across 5 installments. It's been six years since the disappointing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and it has since remained mostly unclear just how the franchise will continue.

Now, in a recent interview with Pirates of the Caribbean 6 story with co-writer Ted Elliot, the screenwriter who penned the original movie and two sequels. While work on the project has been paused due to the ongoing WGA strike, Mazin teases that his pitch for the film is quite different from what's come before. Check out his comment below:

“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.”

Pirates Of The Caribbean's Uncertain Future Explained

Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow yelling on a small boat in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales looking surprised

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was a disappointment critically and commercially. It currently stands as the lowest-grossing entry domestically and the second lowest-grossing entry worldwide. The reception to the film is partly to blame for the lack of a new installment, but the legal controversies surrounding Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, became a further barrier to getting a new movie off the ground.

It was subsequently reported that Disney was eyeing a female-led spinoff starring Margot Robbie, but this movie has seemingly since been moved to the back-burner. With Depp having mostly emerged victorious in his legal battle, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer has expressed interest in getting the star back as Jack Sparrow, promising that things are in the works behind-the-scenes. Depp, however, has recently expressed interest in mostly starring in projects away from Hollywood, so it remains unclear whether the actor will return.

Pirates of the Caribbean remains a highly valuable piece of IP for Disney, so it's a given that it will eventually continue whether Depp returns as Sparrow or not. It's unclear if Mazin's planned film involves Depp's pirate, but if it doesn't, it will be a first for the franchise. Many questions remain about Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and the franchise's future more generally, but Mazin's resume and recent comments suggest that audiences could be in for an exciting new installment.

Source: LA Times