Pirates of the Caribbean's sixth film might have a different vibe from the first 5 money-printing behemoths. Disney is reportedly interested in reviving the franchise and is talking to Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about writing the latest adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.
If you recognize those names at all, it's likely from the pair's work on both of the Deadpool movies. Those R-rated Marvel comedies have little in common with Disney's ride-turned-reliable blockbuster, but its clear the Marvel parent company wants people who can put snappy dialogue into the mouth of the series' roguish pirate captain.
It remains to be seen whether Disney will bring more new blood into the series when the time comes to cast Sparrow, or if they'll stick to Johnny Depp, or if Sparrow will be in the film at all. One thing that isn't changing is the name at the very top of the whole production. Jerry Bruckheimer will be producing this latest high-seas adventure, same as he has for all 5 films in the series.
The Pirates movies have netted more than $4 billion at the box office. While that's far south of Marvel's overall take in the MCU ($15 billion), it's not bad for 5 movies compared to the MCU's estimated 9,000 films.
Depp has previously credited the films for revitalizing his career, saying that no director would come near him before the success of the first Pirates.
"I went through 20 years of what the industry basically described as failures. For 20 years I was defined as box office poison," he said. "I didn't change anything in terms of my process, I didn't change a thing. But that little film Pirates Of The Caribbean came round and I thought, yeah, it'll be fun to play a pirate for my kiddies...It changed my life."
