Caffeinated Clint
With the franchise as pong as a – excuse – sparrow’s fart, no surprise to learn that Disney are going back to the well on “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
Instead of continuing to crank out sequel after sequel – what are they up to now, number fourteen? – with Depp and Geoffrey Rush (wow, yeah.. ouch!) playing blusher salesmen indefinitely, Disney plan to reboot the movie series.
Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, says Sean Bailey, president of production at The Walt Disney Studios, won’t be involved.
Echoing the sentiments of the audience, Bailey believes it’s time to retire Sparrow and has charged “Deadpool” scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick the mission to introduce us to something – and someone – just as fun as Sparrow [was initially].
“We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.”
So what’s the deal? Will a younger version of Sparrow be introduced into the franchise, played by a fresh-out-of-highschool-theater thesp?
Maybe an animated movie, featuring a cartoon Jack?
No, no, none of that.
Despite internet yak that the house of mouse will recast Sparrow with another A-lister (can you imagine the look on Joaquin Phoenix’s face after getting that call from his agent?), the next films reportedly leave the character out of proceedings entirely. Instead, rumour is we’re going to get a foxy, funny female pirate taking to the seas!
When was the last time we had a big-time pirate movie headlined by a sword-yielding woman? Surely, it wasn’t “Cutthroat Island”? was Geena Davis the last fem-pirate? If so, way overdue! Bring. That. On.
Earlier in the year, Aussie Stuart Beattie, who penned the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” and created the character of Jack Sparrow, commented on rumours that Depp won’t be back for the next film.
“I think he’s had a great run. Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now. And kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it’s been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it”, the “Tomorrow When the War Began” scribe tells Daily Mail. “I think Jack Sparrow will be his legacy. It’s the only character he’s played five times, it’s the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it’s what he’ll be remembered for.”
“Before Jack Sparrow came along, [Depp] was considered this kind of quirky, independent actor that made these really cool little Tim Burton films, but he was by no means a movie star and a lot of people thought we were crazy for casting him at the time. Because he wasn’t a proven commodity; you know, a big movie star. And we were making a big movie and we were putting this quirky, independent actor in the middle of it and people thought we were crazy. The fact that it worked is a miracle. They were certainly nervous watching the rushes every day but when it all came together, something just clicked and it was magic and connected with audiences. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, based on the wonky but effective Disneyland theme park attraction, chalked up four sequels with Depp as the lead.
