Back in October, it was reported that Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had enlisted Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to breath new life into the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Now, it looks like the writers have elected to walk the proverbial plank. Via Deadline, Reese and Wernick are no longer penning the sixth installment of the long-running franchise.
After Reese and Wernick came on board, Disney film production chief Sean Bailey repeatedly expressed his excitement during interviews. According to Deadline’s report, Bailey said the studio’s intention was to “make Pirates punk rock again” by hiring the writers who demonstrated their capacity for subversive storytelling with both Deadpool films and Zombieland.
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Now that Reese and Wernick have abandoned ship, the franchise’s future is unclear. The studio appears to be divided into two camps. Some want to look for new writers, but others think it’s time for series to drop anchor for good.
Of course, there’s also the matter of Johnny Depp, who has led the Pirates films as Captain Jack Sparrow since 2003. Bailey appeared to confirm that Depp won’t return to the series in a December interview with The Hollywood Reporter. However, he didn’t say if this was due to the domestic abuse allegations leveled against Depp by his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Despite these accusations, Depp doesn’t seem to br having any trouble getting new roles. He was one of the headliners in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Depp is currently filming Minamata, a biopic about photojournalist W. Eugene Smith.
What do you make of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s departure from Pirates of the Caribbean 6? Do you think the producers should search for new writers? Let us know in the comment section below!
