The Pirates of the Caribbean reboot is moving forward with a brand new story from franchise veteran Ted Elliott and franchise newcomer Craig Mazin, creator of HBO's Emmy-winning miniseries Chernobyl.
News of a reboot first came in December, when Disney's Chief of Film Production Sean Bailey announced that Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were developing a new take on the fantasy franchise, though they later departed the project. According to the Hollywood Reporter, story duties will now fall upon Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin. For Elliott, who wrote the first four films in the series alongside Terry Rossio, this is a return to the Pirates world.
Craig Mazin first rose to prominence writing comedies like Scary Movie 3 and 4 before creating the critically-lauded Chernobyl miniseries, which won 7 Creative Arts Emmys and 3 Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Limited Series.
Johnny Depp is not expected to reprise the role of Jack Sparrow (a role for which he received an Oscar nomination in 2004), and it seems unlikely Depp's co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will return. Otherwise, details on the reboot are scarce at this time.
The original Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, was a surprise hit in 2003, becoming the third highest-grossing film of the year and garnering critical praise despite earlier skepticism about Disney's ability to make a legitimate franchise out of a theme park ride. The series' next three films (Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, and On Stranger Tides) saw increasing returns at the worldwide box office before the franchise took a financial dip with the fifth film, 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales. All five films were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
There is currently no announced release date or director for Disney's planned Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.