BY: Amanda Guarragi
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been a staple in the Disney library since Curse of the Black Pearl was released in 2003. Audiences were introduced to the fearless Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley), the blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the drunken pirate himself, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) all three actors were at their peak and brought their characters to life. The franchise was financially successful at the box office, the five films in the saga have grossed over $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.
The Pirates of the Caribbean films were nothing short of iconic. CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow gained Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination in 2004, proving that he will forever be defined as that character. The love story between Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is more than just Disney pirate lore, it’s a story that will be remembered by all forever because of how fun and adventurous their journey was. Orlando Bloom solidified his action adventure status with Pirates of the Caribbean and Keira Knightley truly outshined them all as Elizabeth Swann sailed towards her destiny as Pirate King.
These films ruled the high seas of the box office in the early 2000s and it’s one of Disney’s greatest franchises. So, here’s the question we’re all asking… “Why are you giving a beloved classic a reboot?” It doesn’t really make sense, since the last film Dead Men Tell No Tales fizzled with the storyline, even though it made $794.1 million at the box office. The original trilogy had a full story arc and they knew they story they wanted to tell. A Pirates of the Caribbean film without CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann or Will Turner is just not the same movie.
Earlier today it was reported by Disnsider that there would be a full on reboot with a female lead. Sources say that Karen Gillan is eyed to be the lead, but they are also looking for women of colour to be at the forefront in the film. According to Daniel Richtman, the story could possibly be centred around the Disney Parks attraction character, Redd, who is a meet-and-greet character. Jerry Bruckheimer is also set to return as producer on the project and Ted Elliot is as well to write the screenplay. The budget of the film, according to Disnsider, is $100 million and is being made for theatrical release, instead of heading to Disney+ as a series.
Here’s the thing, Disney needs more original content involving a female lead that isn’t a princess. Their library is getting stale and making these reboots of their earlier films is just playing it safe at the box office. Instead of rebooting or remaking beloved classics that people grew up with, why not create an entirely new story with a female lead that could add to the Disney library? That’s the issue with reboots or remakes, there’s always going to be a predecessor that it will be compared to, even if it is a spinoff.
The time of CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow has come and gone. Everyone knows there’s no Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without him, and it’s extremely obvious that he won’t be involved in the reboot. So for the sake of clarifying what “reboot” actually means in this specific situation, it doesn’t actually mean a reboot, but a spin-off with an entirely new characters. I also don’t think a theatrical release would be beneficial to the pirate world, a series for this theme park character, would add some more family friendly content to the Disney+ streaming service.
Candid Cinema 