Unless you’ve been living in a cave, chances are you’ve heard the news that Margot Robbie has been cast in a female-led Pirates of the Caribbean film.
The announcement has been met with a lot of enthusiasm because the Pirates franchise is a pretty damn popular one (even if some of the instalments were lacking) and well, Robbie is a regular legend.
As Glamour reports, Robbie is slated to jump on board (LOL) with Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson and OG Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer for the project.
The Hollywood Reporter shares that whispers indicate the film is not intended to be a spinoff; it’s a fresh set of characters and a new storyline within the Pirates universe.
All of this sounds great. Especially if you’ve seen Birds of Prey (it was an entertaining watch). I’ve no doubt that this group will do a great job with the film. But I do have to say that I was disappointed to see that it was Robbie leading the cast, and not Zoe Saldana.
Now, I have nothing against Robbie. In fact, I’m a fan. I think she’s a brilliant actress, and her production company is doing great things for women’s stories and pushing for more diverse casting line ups.
But I feel like there was an opportunity missed to dive into the story of a character that already exists in the Pirates universe (Saldana played pirate, Anamaria). And having the production lead by a phenomenally talented woman of colour would be really wonderful to see.
The original starring cast line up looked like this:
Moreover, the thing that really sits uncomfortably with me is that Saldana has shared she was treated terribly while working on the original Pirates film. Perhaps a new team and an inclusive, female-focused storyline could help address and work on some of the failings of that production?
Saldana told Cosmopolitan in a recent interview that while filming Pirates she walked into an elitist environment “dealing with a lot of people who were great and a lot of people who were not so great”.
“If I’m like, ‘I could have been with my family, in school learning, or travelling, but instead I’m here being treated like an extra but in a very despicable way by people who don’t even speak properly…’ my time is being wasted”, she told the mag.
“I left that experience feeling a little bitter”.
In fact, she is reported to have almost left the industry as a result. This experience may very well mean that Saldana has no interest in returning to the Pirates world, but I still feel that her character could have been given a place at the head of this upcoming film.
In any case, there’s a good opportunity here for this major Disney franchise to do better this time around. Here’s hoping they deliver.
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.