Walt Disney Pictures is set to release a female-centric Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Margot Robbie has been chosen to play the lead role in the new version of the film franchise.
The Robbie-starred Pirates won't be a sequel of the existing Johnny Depp movies and it will not be centered on pirate Jack Sparrow. It will have an entirely new storyline and new set of characters.
The Hollywood Reporter cited a source as saying the female-driven Pirates of the Caribbean movie is already in the early stages of development. So far, aside from Robbie leading the cast, details for the upcoming movie have been limited.
No plot details were available at the moment. What is known so far is that it will be a reunion project for screenwriter Christina Hodson and Robbie. The two recently worked together in DC's Birds of Prey. They also teamed up to launch an initiative, called the Lucky Exports Pitch Program, for women interested in writing action movies.
Hodson will pen the female-led Pirates. She is credited in Transformers spinoff Bumblebee and in DC superhero upcoming movie, The Flash, which could bring back Michael Keaton as Batman.
The new Pirates of the Caribbean would also be different from the earlier announced sixth installment of the Depp-starred franchise. It was developed by Pirates scriptwriter Ted Elliott and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Both Pirates projects will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
THR noted that the new Pirates of the Caribbean marks as the latest bid of the industry to reimagine classic films by casting women in the lead roles. The heist Ocean's series has been rebooted in 2018 which starred Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett. Ghostbusters was also rebooted in 2016 and it starred Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the successful film franchises of all time. It grossed over $4.5 billion for its five movies that were fronted by Depp since 2003 and have been based on the theme-park ride.
Meanwhile, aside from the confirmation that Robbie will star in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the 29-year-old Australian actress would also reprise her role as Harley Quinn in the upcoming The Suicide Squad sequel. The movie is expected to be released in August 2021. The Bombshell actress is also set to play the role of Barbie in the upcoming Barbie project.
