Johnny Depp is gone. Or maybe he isn't. Nobody actually knows.
That’s the weird, frustrating reality of Pirates of the Caribbean in 2026. For a franchise that literally redefined the "swashbuckler" genre and turned a theme park ride into a $4.5 billion global juggernaut, the current state of affairs is a total mess of conflicting reports, scrapped scripts, and fan petitions. It’s honestly kind of a tragedy. You’ve got a massive fanbase hungry for more high-seas adventure, yet Disney seems to be spinning its wheels in the sand, unsure if they should reboot the whole thing or beg Captain Jack Sparrow to come back for one last bottle of rum.
What Really Happened with Pirates of the Caribbean 6?
The last time we saw a film in this series was 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales. It wasn't exactly a masterpiece. Critics kind of hated it, calling it bloated, but it still cleared nearly $800 million at the box office. That's the power of the brand. Since then, the development of a sixth film has been a saga more complex than Davy Jones’ locker.
Initially, Disney hired Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick—the guys who wrote Deadpool—to breathe some life into the script. They left. Then, Craig Mazin (the genius behind The Last of Us and Chernobyl) teamed up with original writer Ted Elliott. Mazin himself famously said the script was "too weird" and he was surprised Disney even bought it. But then the 2023 strikes happened, schedules shifted, and things went quiet.
There was also that whole Margot Robbie project. Remember that? Back in 2020, news broke that a female-led spin-off was in the works with Christina Hodson writing. By late 2022, Robbie told Vanity Fair the project was dead. Then Jerry Bruckheimer, the legendary producer who has been the heartbeat of these movies since day one, countered by saying the Robbie script wasn't dead, just on the "back burner" while they prioritized a different ensemble-led script. It’s enough to give you whiplash.
The Elephant in the Room: Johnny Depp
You can't talk about Pirates of the Caribbean without Jack Sparrow. It's impossible. Depp’s performance in The Curse of the Black Pearl changed everything; he took a secondary character and made him the sun that the whole universe orbited. But after the highly publicized legal battles with Amber Heard, Disney effectively cut ties.
🔗 Read more: Blink-182 Mark Hoppus: What Most People Get Wrong About His 2026 Comeback
During the trial, Depp famously stated he wouldn’t return even if Disney offered him "$300 million and a million alpacas."
Fans haven't moved on, though. Change.org petitions have racked up millions of signatures. The reality is that Disney is in a tough spot. Can the franchise survive without its mascot? On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales already showed signs of "Sparrow fatigue," where the character started feeling like a caricature of himself rather than a person. Some argue a reboot is the only way to save the soul of the series. Others say without Depp, it’s just another generic pirate movie.
Why the First Movie Still Works (And the Sequels Struggle)
Go back and watch The Curse of the Black Pearl. It’s tight. It’s basically a ghost story disguised as an action-comedy. The stakes are personal. Will Turner wants the girl; Elizabeth Swann wants adventure; Barbossa just wants to feel the taste of an apple again. It’s grounded in a way the later movies aren't.
By the time we got to the third movie, At World's End, the plot was so dense with double-crosses and supernatural lore that you almost needed a spreadsheet to follow it. We had Pirate Lords, goddess transformations, and multiple "deaths" that didn't stick. The spectacle was amazing—that maelstrom battle is still a technical marvel—but we lost the simplicity.
The later sequels tried to recapture the magic by introducing "Jack Sparrow clones" like Philip the missionary or Henry Turner. It didn't work. You can't replace the chemistry of the original trio (Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley) by just plugging in younger actors with similar hair.
💡 You might also like: Why Grand Funk’s Bad Time is Secretly the Best Pop Song of the 1970s
The Real History Behind the Fiction
One thing the Pirates of the Caribbean movies get surprisingly right—amidst the krakens and cursed gold—is the "Golden Age of Piracy" vibe. This roughly 80-year window from 1650 to 1730 was a specific historical moment.
Pirates weren't just criminals; they were often former sailors reacting to the brutal conditions of the Royal Navy. The "Pirate Code" seen in the movies? That actually existed. Characters like Bartholomew Roberts and Edward Low really did have articles of agreement that crews had to sign. They even had a form of disability insurance. If you lost a limb in battle, you got a bigger share of the loot. It was weirdly progressive for a bunch of outlaws.
- Port Royal: The "wickedest city on earth" was a real place in Jamaica. It really was a haven for privateers until a massive earthquake in 1692 sank most of it into the sea.
- Blackbeard: Edward Teach (or Thatch) did use slow-burning fuses in his beard to look like a demon. He understood the power of branding long before Disney did.
- The East India Trading Company: Lord Cutler Beckett’s villainous corporation was essentially the first mega-conglomerate. At one point, they had a private army larger than the British military.
The Gaming and Theme Park Legacy
Even if we never get another movie, the Pirates of the Caribbean brand lives on in other media. The original ride is still a cornerstone of Disney Parks, recently updated to remove some of the more "problematic" 1960s-era scenes.
In the gaming world, the collaboration with Sea of Thieves ("A Pirate’s Life") was probably the best use of the IP in a decade. It allowed players to actually sail through the Bayou and visit the Sea of the Damned. It captured the feeling of being in the movie better than the last two films did. There’s also the Kingdom Hearts crossover, which, while bizarre, kept the characters relevant for a younger generation.
Where Does Disney Go from Here?
Rumors in early 2026 suggest Disney is looking at a "hybrid" approach. This would involve a younger cast for a rebooted main series, but leaving the door cracked open for legacy cameos. It's a gamble.
📖 Related: Why La Mera Mera Radio is Actually Dominating Local Airwaves Right Now
The problem is that the "pirate movie" is a notoriously difficult genre. Before 2003, people thought pirate movies were box-office poison because of the disaster that was Cutthroat Island. Pirates of the Caribbean succeeded because it leaned into the supernatural and the eccentric. If Disney tries to make a "gritty, realistic" pirate movie now, it'll likely flop. If they make it too cartoony, they lose the adult audience.
The most likely path forward is the Craig Mazin script. Mazin has a track record of taking established lore and making it feel urgent and visceral. If he can do for Jack Sparrow what he did for The Last of Us, we might actually see a resurgence.
How to Stay Updated on the Franchise
If you’re a die-hard fan waiting for news on a trailer or casting, here’s what you actually need to do instead of falling for "leaked" fan-made trailers on YouTube:
- Monitor Jerry Bruckheimer’s official socials: He is the primary gatekeeper of this franchise and usually the first to confirm or deny production starts.
- Check trade publications like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter: Avoid the "insider" blogs that claim Depp has signed a $500 million deal; they are almost always clickbait. Real casting news hits the trades first.
- Revisit the original trilogy on Disney+: If you haven't watched Dead Man's Chest lately, do it. The CGI on Davy Jones still holds up better than most Marvel movies today.
- Look for D23 Expo announcements: Disney tends to save their "big swings" for their own biennial fan event.
The sea is still there. The ship is still there. We’re just waiting for a captain who knows how to steer the thing without crashing into the rocks of a reboot. It's a waiting game, but in Hollywood, no IP this valuable stays buried forever.