LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Whenever the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise reemerges, it will do so without Johnny Depp and his iconic character, Captain Jack Sparrow.
A Disney producer told The Hollywood Reporter it’s time to reboot the series without having Sparrow at its helm after 14 years of his drunken exploits.
“We want to bring in a new energy and vitality,” the company’s production chief, Sean Bailey, said. Disney has already met with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers behind the Deadpool movies, and asked them to focus their talents on the Disney vehicle. ”
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,” Bailey said.
Depp’s exit was tipped back in October when scriptwriter Stuart Beattie said on DailyMail TV that the entire franchise was being reworked.
“I think he’s had a great run,” Beattie said. “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.”
He added: “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.”
