Pirates Of The Caribbean Reboot May Not Happen As Writers Exit

Back in October of last year, the news got out that Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick had signed on to pen the planned Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, and in the months since, Disney’s film production chief Sean Bailey has been vocal in his enthusiasm about the new recruits, telling THR in December that he believed the pair could give the franchise a much-needed “kick in the pants.” However, it now seems that the producer’s enthusiasm was a little premature, with Deadline reporting that Reese and Wernick have departed from the project.

With the writing duo no longer involved, Deadline’s Disney insiders are said to be divided over what happens next, with some claiming that a search is underway for new scribes, while others are predicting that we could already be seeing the end of the swashbuckler series. For a possible third option, it’s also alleged that the idea of a Pirates TV show has been thrown around, but that the budgetary and logistical challenges of bringing this property to the small screen may prove too daunting.

In any case, if the franchise doesn’t end here, it sounds like we’re in for a very long wait before the next Pirates of the Caribbean project comes our way, though it’s questionable whether there was really all that much demand for Reese and Wernick’s Johnny Depp-free reboot anyway. After all, if you’re among those who lost interest in the series years ago then you probably haven’t been crying out for the franchise to continue, and if you’ve stuck with the saga right up until 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, then Depp’s performance was almost certainly one of the main reasons why.

In any case, though the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise isn’t looking too promising right now, you can see Reese and Wernick’s attempt at resurrecting another series when Zombieland: Double Tap hits theaters on October 11th, 2019.