Margot Robbie’s Female-Led ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Movie Isn’t Happening

Margot Robbie’s female-led Pirates of the Caribbean has been cancelled by the studios.

Robbie, 32, previously noted that a the project had been in works with Disney for awhile. And she also noted it a “really cool” story. However, now Robbie is confirming that the project is dead.

“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 says in an interview with America’s Vanity Fair magazine.

Just a few months ago, in May, executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer had confirmed that he was in talks with Robbie about developing another movie for the franchise. 

“We’re talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts – one with her, one without.” Bruckheimer had confirmed.

Bruckheimer, who has worked on all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, had previously said that he thought it was unlikely that Johnny Depp would return for more movies. But that was also before the court case with Depp and Amber Heard had wrapped with Depp winning.

A Second New Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Also in the Works?

Back in summer 2020, Variety reported that Disney was in the early development phase on the project with Margot Robbie. It was also reported that a second reboot of the franchise was being written by Ted Elliott and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.

As of October 2022, that project is still in the works according to IMDB Pro and is in the script phase. Additionally, Joachim Rønning is attached to direct. However, no cast has been attached to the project yet.

How likely is it that a reboot of the franchise could see Depp return to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow? It’s certainly a possibility, and at least one former Disney exec thinks it’s possible.

Speaking to People Magazine, the former Disney executive said, “I absolutely believe post-verdict that Pirates is primed for rebooting with Johnny as Captain Jack back on board. There is just too much potential box-office treasure for a beloved character deeply embedded in the Disney culture.”

The previous Pirates movies were massive box office hits, grossing $1.5 billion domestically and $3.07 billion internationally. And the domestic markets were actually the smaller share of the overall box office success of the franchise. For example, the domestic tally for 2017’s Dead Men Tells No Tales peaked at $172 million, whereas internationally the movie brought in $622 million.

From a financial standpoint, it makes sense to reboot the franchise. The question is just when and with who leading the project.

Were you looking forward to the Margot Robbie-led Pirates movie? Want to see Johnny Depp back in the role? Sound off with your thoughts on the news below!