Read the Full StoryDeadline revealed a couple of days ago that Walt Disney was looking into “rebooting” the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with help from Deadpool writers Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick. Yes, there is something dispiriting about the writers of another game-changing superhero hit that was a smash precisely because it was unique unto itself being hired to reboot/retool a property that was initially a game-changing hit precisely because it was unique unto itself. It’s yet another sign that, no thanks to audiences, Hollywood has become a place that is less likely to create The Matrix than reboot The Matrix. But I digress.
For the record, the word “reboot” could mean any number of choices. It could be a straight-up revamp, keeping only the brand name and telling an entirely different high-seas pirate adventure. It could go the Halloween route and bring back the long-absent heroic character(s), in this case Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner (who had a small supporting role in Dead Men Tell No Tales) and Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swan (who had a wordless cameo in that same fifth installment). Or, to be honest, it could just be a straight-up sixth installment with the word “reboot” being thrown around in development.
