Margot Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean Movie is Dead

Movies

Disney has finally realized that the Black Pearl doesn’t sail without Captain Jack. In an extensive interview with Vanity Fair, Margot Robbie confirmed that the Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff in which she was to star is no longer happening.

“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led—not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story—which we thought would’ve been really cool, but I guess they don’t want to do it.”

Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean film was to be written by Christina Hodson, who also wrote Birds of Prey, which starred Robbie, as well as the upcoming DC film The Flash and the now-scrapped Batgirl. None of the characters would be holdovers from the real Pirates of the Caribbean series, although after Disney cut ties with Johnny Depp, this would essentially be the flag-bearer of the franchise. (There was talk of a reboot to go alongside this one, but there’s been no word on it since, and it seems to have been dropped too.) Robbie is also preparing to star in an Ocean’s Eleven prequel, for some reason.

For Disney to have dropped a movie that would have replaced a beloved character with a woman, the outlook must have been especially grim, as that’s their stock in trade at the moment. It’s a safe bet that this fell apart after Johnny Depp was vindicated of the allegations against him, and Disney’s betrayal of him looked even worse than it initially did. Before that, they could have at least called everyone who wanted Depp back a supporter of violence against women (not that it would have worked, but they love playing that tune because they’ve got the words memorized). After the trial, they’ve got no leg to stand on, however rickety it might have been. And with Depp refusing to work with them again, they’ve got little choice but to let the franchise die quietly. And that’s for the best; while I’d have loved to see more Pirates of the Caribbean movies with Captain Jack, I don’t want to watch Disney pick at the bones of something they killed with their shortsighted decision to cast him aside in favor of his lunatic ex-wife. Maybe they can ask Warner Bros. for the rights to Mera; I think both studios might be amenable to that.

Are you disappointed that Margot Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie is dead? Should Disney let the franchise end or revive it in a different way? Would rounding up a few alpacas impress Johnny Depp? Let us know in the comments, and stick around Geeks + Gamers for more bad decisions coming back to haunt Hollywood!