Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been gradually hearing more and more about the status of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, including casting decisions and the actresses who have been shortlisted for the female lead. But according to one former star of the franchise, the fifth entry into Disney’s maritime adventure may act as a complete overhaul for the series.
Speaking to IGN, Orlando Bloom — who played a key role in the first three films as Will Turner — revealed that there have been talks of rebooting the franchise to give it a much-needed lease of life following 2011’s middling On Stranger Tides.
I’m not entirely sure that [I’ll be back] just yet, but there are talks. Basically they want to reboot the whole franchise, I think, and do something with me and the relationship with my son… I’m of course Davey Jones now, so I’m down the bottom of the ocean. It might be kind of fun to do something where I’m rumbling round the bottom of the ocean, because I won’t look anything like me. [Gestures to face] Get all gnarly.
Whether the studio opts for the hard reset with Dead Men Tell No Tales remains to be seen. Following the reception of its predecessor, though, it could just be that bringing Bloom back on board for another installment is a means of the wayward franchise returning to its root. After all, given that On Stranger Tides — which suffered from a director changeover in the thick of filming — was itself intended as a standalone reboot, it’s likely that Disney want to try to recapture the magic of the first film, and having Bloom return for the fifth chapter is certainly a sound place to start.
Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s swashbuckling adventure is still a ways away from release, as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales isn’t due to sail into theaters until July 7, 2017. As always though, we’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
