As we reported back in October, the writers behind Deadpool were rumoured to be working on a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, and now, those rumours have been confirmed. But there’s a twist: Johnny Depp will not be involved in the reboot.
Disney’s film production chief, Sean Bailey, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the company’s upcoming live action projects, including the Lion King and Aladdin reboots. He also spoke about the Pirates reboot, and his desire to give the franchise a “kick in the pants”.
He told THR:
“We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.”
What could that mean exactly? According to Comic Book, some early reports suggest the films could focus on a female lead.
I have a suggestion.
While a female pirate does sound kind of awesome, I do question the need to continue the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Why not give her her own franchise? POTC is almost exclusively associated with Depp, and at this point, audiences are kind of sick of the endless stream of POTC movies. Pirates can and do exist outside the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Let us not forget the delightful Pirates of Penzance.
And as I emphasised back in October, the last movie in the franchise was only released last year. That’s an awfully short period of time in between the original and the reboot.
These endless reboots and revivals are exhausting and uninspiring. Hollywood is clearly afraid to take risks, and is instead falling back on old favourites. But old favourites don’t necessarily translate to contemporary box office successes.
Who knows. Maybe the Deadpool guys will produce something amazing. The Deadpool movies are hilarious. But their efforts might be better spent creating their own legacy instead of hitching themselves to the Pirates of the Caribbean bandwagon.