Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer says that one of the series’ original writers is coming back for the next movie. Comicbook.com’s Chris Killian spoke to him for Top Gun: Maverick and they had to address getting back on the seven seas. “I’ve very excited, it’s going to be terrific,” Bruckheimer began. “We’re just working on the screenplay. One of the original writers, Ted Elliot, is helping write it. He has a great command of the characters.” So, with a couple of familiar faces in tow, Disney presses on with another entry in the beloved franchise. It’s been years since the last installment. But, as Maverick proves, audiences will hunker down for a familiar world if the story is told right. A lot of fans are wondering what shape the movie will take without Johnny Depp attached. But, a reinvigoration might be in order after so much time has passed.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Series star Kevin McNally actually thought the embattled former lead should return to the franchise. Express spoke with the actor about the prospect last year.
“I’ve never seen a hint of any dark side to Johnny. I see a great humanitarian and a beautiful human being. I don’t see any impediment for him coming back and playing Jack Sparrow.” McNally said. “I think there was a general feeling that without Jack there is no Pirates franchise. And there’s probably a lot of truth in that. But now there have been questions about that, certainly why not have other Pirate films and certainly then why not have Jack back or Jack playing a different part.”
Jungle Cruise producer Dany Garcia acknowledged the impact that these films have had. He told Variety that the kind of success over that run is what they were looking for.
“Well I have to tell you, we had, we know that there are big swings in front of us. I mean, you have to look at Pirates of the Caribbean, know what they did, know what the previous Haunted Mansion, those storylines,” Garcia offered. “So we felt we could take the premise, the heart, the humor, and add – you know, Walt [Disney] always wanted the tour to be exciting and a little bit of tension in it and a little action, you know, it is the jungle. So we want to lean into that, just turn up the volume and say, ‘Okay, let’s take it out of our little ride,’ and all of a sudden you’re in the Amazon, and maybe there’s waterfalls and maybe there’s a little more danger. It wasn’t that hard, we just blew it up big.”
Are you down for more Pirates? Let us know down in the comments!