Disney Reportedly Making Plans For A Female-Led “Pirates Of The Caribbean” Film

Disney’s reboot of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” appears to have gotten the green light, moving forward into casting. It appears that the film has also finally decided on a lead actor — or, in this case, a lead actress.

Disney, according to Daniel Richtman, is eyeing “Guardian of the Galaxy” and “Avengers: Endgame” actress Karen Gillan for the lead role of the new Pirates film, CBR reported. She will reportedly be thrust into the lead role for the sixth and still-untitled film in the “Pirates” franchise. No reports have come out whether Gillan’s side and Disney had reached an agreement, as Disney is allegedly looking for other actresses for the role — preferably a “woman of color.”

Other reports have an idea for the role that Gillan or another actress may play — that of the red-headed swashbuckler named Redd, who is already a fixture on the Disneyland “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride. This ties in with rumored plots that the female-led franchise reboot will feature someone from the original movie universe.

According to Express, the reboot will be helmed by “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin and Ted Elliot. The duo has been connected to previous “Pirates” films making them the perfect team to man the reboot. Jerry Bruckheimer is also rumored to return as producer. As for the director, there is no word yet as to who has been chosen.

Reports state that the budget will be over $100 million and the film will veer away from Disney+; rather, it will be a cinematic release. There are also no words as to whether Johnny Depp, who played the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the original films, will reprise his role, with the possibility of it being highly unlikely.

There had been talks to do a sixth “Pirates” film as early as 2010. In 2018, writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese were being eyed to write the script, but they backed out in February 2019. This led to Disney tapping the service of Craig Mazin. Chad Oman also comes on board to produce alongside Bruckheimer.

The last Pirates film, “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, opened in 2017 and had grossed $794 million worldwide. Despite the impressive numbers, the film was second-lowest in grosses listed in the franchise, right behind “The Curse of the Black Pearl.”