Despite Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales coming up some $250 million short of its predecessor On Stranger Tides, the fifth instalment of the swashbuckling fantasy series still managed to pull in a hefty $795 million worldwide, and it seems that may be enough to convince Disney to give the go ahead to a sixth film.
According to Geeks Worldwide, Disney is said to be eyeing Dead Men Tell No Tales helmer Joachim Ronning to return to the director’s chair for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, while Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and Jeff Nathanson are reportedly working on a script.
The site goes on to speculate whether Disney will stand by Johnny Depp in the wake of James Gunn’s firing from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, given Depp’s previous domestic abuse allegations and other erratic behaviour such as allegedly punching a crew member on the set of his new film City of Lies.
However, with director Joachim Ronning currently working on Maleficent 2, it’s unlikely that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 will move ahead any sooner than 2020, so we may have a while to wait before we learn whether Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow has any future in the franchise.