Sixth Installment of Disney's 'Pirates' Might Not Happen As 'Deadpool' Writers Jump Ship

Is Disney finally laying its beloved Jack Sparrow to rest? Disney’s newly hired writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who were brought on in hopes that they could keep this pirate ship sailing, have already ditched the planned sixth installment. Along with the public’s now controversial opinion on Johnny Depp and his steep salary demands, Disney might just give up on “Pirates of the Caribbean” altogether.

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The film franchise, originally based on the pirate ride at Disney World, has gained Disney big bucks from the box office and merchandise sales. Most of that has been based around the crazy, morally ambiguous Jack Sparrow that stole the show (and the lead) back in that first 2003 movie. Now though, with Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley (almost) entirely out of the films, Johnny Depp is the only one left from the original cast, and box office numbers are not what they once were.

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Disney’s production chief Sean Bailey hoped to change all of that last October by hiring Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the two genius writers behind the hit Marvel movie “Deadpool.” With the duo on board, Bailey hoped to bring back that unique swagger the original three films had that attracted so many. However, that hope did not last long. According to Deadline and Disney insiders, it looks like the hot-shot writers have just jumped ship. What will this mean for the future of the ‘Pirates’ films? will they revamp the cast (and kick Johnny Depp to the curb) and try and steer this sinking ship in another direction? Or is it too late to save the franchise from crashing into the rocks?