TheHollywoodReporter was able to speak with Walt Disney’s film production chief Sean Bailey about the reports that Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick would be rebooting the franchise with Pirates of The Carribean 6. He also avoids mentioning either Johnny Depp and Jack Sparrow, which could be very telling.
You’ve hired Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to work on a possible Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. Can Pirates survive without Johnny Depp?
SEAN BAILEY: 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.
While Sean doesn’t flat-out say they’re moving forward without Depp, the assumption is that even failing to mention their current working relationship with Depp is a huge clue he’s unlikely returning.
We previously reported this last month and suggested that ride/in-park character Redd is most likely taking over for Jack Sparrow. Suggesting that Depp likely wouldn’t be returning due to his toxic on and off-set behavior.
We are hearing from multiple sources that Disney is indeed ready to part ways with Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character that has led the franchise over the last 5 films. We are also hearing the studio is looking to center the franchise on Redd, the recently revamped character in the popular Disneyland attraction who is also a meet-in-greet park character.
Going even further back, I first revealed development on the sixth film was in works at Disney over the summer at OmegaUnderground and suggested that it was possible that Jack Sparrow could be replaced by the studio with a character like Redd.
Disney has yet to announce when they’ll start filming Pirates 6 as they don’t currently have a director.
SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
