‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Reboot: Disney In Talks With The ‘Deadpool’ Writers

Think the “Pirates Of The Caribbean” franchise is dead following the underperformance of ‘Pirate 5,’ and given the (sort of) persona non grata status of Johnny Depp in Hollywood? Well, in its current form it could be toast, but evidently, Disney is exploring ways to keep the billion-dollar brand alive (naturally).

Deadline reports that Disney is currently in exploratory mode and talking to the “Deadpool” writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about a potential reboot. They are in early talks to write the script currently, so it could be a go. Reese and Wernick wrote both “Deadpool” films and also penned “Zombieland” before that and the upcoming “6 Underground” action film that Michael Bay is directing for Netflix starring Ryan Reynolds.

READ MORE: ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Is A Tedious, Rudderless Blockbuster Sequel [Review]

Jerry Bruckheimer will stay on board as a producer, but the trade says it’s too early to tell who else might be back and that includes Johnny Depp (which maybe then doesn’t really make it a reboot if he is back?)

In a way, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” had a soft rebooted ending, arguably paving the way for Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), while still keeping Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow out there somewhere, but that seemed like wishful thinking at best.

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Whatever happens, definitely expect more ‘Pirates’ films in some shape or form. Over 14 years and five films, the ‘Pirates’ series has grossed over $4.5 billion dollars. Though the series waned in the last installment: ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales,’ co-starring Javier Bardem as the bad guy, was the lowest grossing film in the series domestically (by nearly $70 million) and the second lowest globally after the first film back in 2003—Depp and the franchise’s popularity waning even before his spousal abuse allegations.

No further details are offered, but it looks like the “Deadpool” writers and Disney are just hashing out possible ideas and seeing if they go anywhere. Reese and Wernick recently penned “Cowboy Ninja Viking,” starring Chris Pratt, but the movie was shut down indefinitely by Universal after reported script issues. [Deadline]