Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Had Two Scripts — Disney Picked the One Without Johnny Depp
After years adrift amid script stalls and Johnny Depp’s high-profile court battle, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is finally showing signs of life, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer saying the team is back at the keyboard and nothing moves until the script does.
If you have felt like Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has been stuck in dry dock forever, you are not imagining it. Between script issues and Johnny Depp's very public court battle, the ship has been circling the harbor for years. Now producer Jerry Bruckheimer is finally saying a little more out loud, and it sounds like Disney has been juggling multiple versions of what this movie even is.
Where things stand right now
"We're working on a script. If we don't have it on the page, it's not gonna get on the screen. We had two scripts at one point, and then one kind of dropped out and we kind of went with the other one."
- Jerry Bruckheimer, speaking to TheWrap
That tracks with the behind-the-scenes whispers: there were two competing takes, then one was tossed overboard and the other kept sailing. Which one survived? That is the part Bruckheimer is not saying. And yeah, I would love to know what was in the abandoned draft.
Reboot energy, Margot Robbie rumors, and the two-script shuffle
Back in 2024, Bruckheimer told ComicBook that the plan was to go the reboot route because it is "easier to put together because you don't have to wait for certain actors." That comment poured gasoline on the long-running rumor of a Margot Robbie-led Pirates. Bruckheimer has also said Robbie is still in the mix, which lines up with the earlier chatter that they were working on two versions: one centered on Robbie and one that was not.
Translation, because this part gets convoluted: at one point there were two scripts competing for the future of the franchise; one was dropped; Robbie remains involved according to the producer. That leaves two obvious paths for the remaining draft: either Robbie becomes the new face of the series, or she shares the deck with Depp if he ever decides to climb back aboard.
The Jack Sparrow problem
Here is the blunt version: selling Pirates without Jack Sparrow is a lot tougher. The character is the franchise's compass. Bruckheimer knows it. He has said making another sequel is a challenge, and if it were his call, he would bring Depp back. It has also been eight years since Dead Men Tell No Tales hit theaters, which does not make the job any easier.
Complicating all of this: Disney notably cut ties with Depp during his legal fight with Amber Heard. Still, there is a glimmer of possibility. People reported that Depp is not ruling out a return, with an insider saying "if it's the right project, he'll do it." He has been easing back into the public eye and taking on work again, so the door is not locked.
A Depp-Robbie team-up? Honestly, that would be a smart way to bridge old and new if everyone could agree to it.
How the franchise has fared so far
- The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - 79% on Rotten Tomatoes
- Dead Man's Chest (2006) - 53%
- At World's End (2007) - 43%
- On Stranger Tides (2011) - 32%
- Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) - 30%
Would you show up for a Pirates movie without Depp? Or does the next voyage need Captain Jack front and center?
If you feel like revisiting the series, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are streaming on Disney+ right now.