The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been up in the air for quite a while now. Several months ago, the House of Mouse dropped the series’ lead, Johnny Depp, following – but not officially caused by – Amber Heard’s allegations of sexual abuse. Depp has since blamed his ex-wife’s op-ed in The Washington Post for Disney’s decision, and the ensuing legal mess has been far from kind.
But as that drama has unfolded in the courts, Disney has remained confident that the franchise can continue without Depp. The studio’s eyes have since been set on a female-led reboot, penned by Deadpool and Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (though both eventually bailed on the project). And aside from those tiny details, we haven’t heard much else. Until now.
According to sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who told us the leads of Ghostbusters 3 would be young teens and that an Aladdin sequel was in development, both of which have since been confirmed – Disney is eyeing Jumanji and Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan to headline the reboot. Appropriately, the character she’d be playing is a pirate named Red and she’d pioneer whatever uncharted territories the franchise decides to explore.
Now, we know that a lot of fans are still very upset about the burial at sea of Captain Jack Sparrow, but this possibility shouldn’t be accompanied by frowns. Over the last decade, Gillan has proven herself as a more than capable action star, with supporting roles in the aforementioned films, as well as Doctor Who. So, as far as I’m concerned, if Disney decides to move forward with this Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, the 31-year-old actress would be a very solid choice.
In the meantime, you can evaluate this possibility yourself when Gillan hits the big screen on December 13th with Jumanji: The Next Level.