Disney’s plan to reboot the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise sans Johnny Depp has found itself in some choppy waters, with Deadline reporting that Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have jumped ship and are no longer involved with the project.
Reese and Wernick signed on to revive the franchise this past October, with Disney film production chief Sean Bailey expressing his excitement over their appointment, stating that the duo would give the series “a kick in the pants” and will “make Pirates punk rock again”.
The Pirates of the Caribbean series has been a huge hit for Disney, grossing over $4.5 billion across its five instalments, although the latest – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – didn’t perform to expectations at the box office, particularly domestically, leading Disney to look to shake up the somewhat tired formula (and apparently save some $90 million by dropping Johnny Depp).
However, with Reese and Wernick’s departure, Disney is reportedly torn between looking to bring in a replacement on the script, or putting the franchise on hold indefinitely. Apparently, there has also been some talk of revamping the IP for a TV series, although it’s thought that budgetary and logistically concerns could prevent this from happening.
How would you like to see Disney handling the Pirates franchise? Is it time to call it a day? Would you be interested in a TV series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
