Disney Needs To Figure Out What To Do With Its Sleeping $4.5Bn Franchise Sooner Rather Than Later

Lately, Disney‘s been running into some serious problems with its productions — some movies still crush it at the box office, while others completely miss the mark. And when it comes to franchises, a few of them are basically on life support. They’re not dead, but they’re not alive either. They’re just there, hooked up to corporate machines while executives try to decide whether they’re worth saving. And among them all, none hurts more to see stuck in limbo than the one that used to be the studio’s biggest adventure brand. It’s surreal to think Disney is sitting on a name that made $4.5 billion and still has no clue what to do with it. It was once one of Disney’s biggest flagships, and now it’s probably the studio’s biggest wasted opportunity.

The problem with Pirates of the Caribbean today isn’t really a lack of interest — it’s a lack of direction. What many people forget is that the franchise started as a wild idea: turning a theme park ride into a massive pirate epic. Against all odds, it worked, redefining the action-fantasy genre in the 2000s. The first film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, mixed humor, chaos, and charisma in a way that completely won audiences over and gave Johnny Depp one of the most iconic performances in pop culture. But two decades later, what was once bold and unexpected has turned into hesitation. Disney seems to have completely lost its timing, and honestly, nobody understands why the brand has been asleep for so long.

It’s understandable that the legal battle between Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, put the actor (and, by extension, the studio) in the middle of a PR crisis, freezing any plans for the franchise. But it’s been almost four years since that all went down, and considering that Disney already confirmed another Pirates of the Caribbean movie is in development, it’s surprising how little we actually know about it.

Since Dead Men Tell No Tales hit theaters in 2017, the franchise has been in ghost mode, with nothing concrete moving forward. There were even confirmations of a project starring Margot Robbie, but the overall impression is that Disney’s too afraid to pick a direction now and commit. Meanwhile, other brands like Tron keep struggling to make a comeback, proving the studio desperately needs a win outside the Marvel/Star Wars bubble.

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What’s most frustrating is that Pirates of the Caribbean already has everything a major franchise needs: a recognizable world, iconic characters, and a distinct visual identity. Even its weaker sequels made tons of money, which proves audiences never really abandoned ship. The real issues were internal: bad creative decisions, unfocused scripts, and the studio’s overreliance on Jack Sparrow as the franchise’s lifeline — and that’s not necessarily wrong, since a movie without him is a huge risk, and Disney knows it. It’s also true that Sparrow eventually stopped being unpredictable and turned into a formula (and that’s when the magic faded a bit for some people). Still, that doesn’t mean fans lost interest in this world. It just means they want something better.

And here’s where things really get stuck: Disney has the money, the technology, and the talent to reinvent Pirates of the Caribbean, but it’s caught between two fears: making something too new or too familiar. The result? Total paralysis. No project moves forward because nobody wants to be the one blamed for “killing” the legacy. But keeping the franchise in limbo indefinitely is basically letting it die slowly. The audience forgets, the actors age, and reviving the brand gets more expensive every year.

Disney Is Losing Time (and Money) by Keeping Pirates of the Caribbean on Standby

To this day, no one knows for sure if Depp is coming back, though it was confirmed that two separate scripts were being developed. Many still speculate whether, after everything that happened and the way Disney handled it, the actor would even want to return. Bruckheimer, on the other hand, seems confident he might. Either way, time’s running out, and it’s way past time to do something. The longer Disney waits, the higher the risk that audiences will move on (and right now, that audience still exists — but barely).

The solution is simple but requires guts: pick a direction and go for it. The next movie is a reboot. Could it work? Maybe. Icons like Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom might not be involved (though Bloom has shown interest), but a new cast could bring the spark back. Dead Men Tell No Tales, for instance, wasn’t the best production, but new characters weren’t the problem. It’s just a matter of trying to capture the same rebellious energy and humor that made the first movie a modern classic. The story can be retold and still reinvented, while better expanding the universe. The foundation is strong enough. What doesn’t work is pretending the problem will fix itself.

Besides, Disney keeps wasting opportunities outside the big screen. Pirates of the Caribbean could thrive as a TV show or an animated project — anything that keeps the brand alive while the next movie is in production. A franchise this big deserves more than to quietly fade into the background. The studio could easily keep it alive in multiple ways, but it seems terrified of taking creative risks. Ironically, they know exactly how valuable this brand is. In a time of shaky projects and tired franchises, Pirates of the Caribbean stands out as one of the few original IPs Disney built from scratch that actually worked outside of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. It’s proof that the company can still create something massive on its own.

But the truth is that time isn’t on Disney’s side. Too many reboots are failing, audiences are more skeptical than ever about blockbusters, and nostalgia alone doesn’t sell tickets anymore. Pirates of the Caribbean can absolutely make a comeback — but that requires quick vision, not indecision. A strong script, new charismatic characters, and a return to the series’ adventurous spirit could easily win audiences back. The interest is still there — just barely hanging on. All that’s missing is Disney’s will to act. Because in the end, what’s at stake isn’t just one franchise, but Disney’s credibility in proving it can still build original worlds instead of endlessly recycling the past.

Letting a powerhouse like this one sleep any longer is basically leaving a chest of gold at the bottom of the ocean. It’s time to bring it back to the surface.

Are you a Pirates of the Caribbean fan? What do you think the future holds for the franchise? Let us know in the comments!