Disney is moving ahead with a new Pirates of the Caribbean without Johnny Depp.
The long-running franchise has tapped Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin to develop a story for the planned reboot alongside veteran writer Ted Elliott.
Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are no longer on board the project.
The original film’s screenwriter, Stuart Beattie, previously appeared to confirm Depp’s time as Captain Jack Sparrow was over.
“I think he’s had a great run,” he told DailyMailTV. “Obviously he’s made that character his own and it’s become the thing that he’s most famous for now. It’s been great for him and it’s been great for us.”
Beattie continued: “There’s that saying, ‘Don’t frown because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ The fact that they’re rebooting something that you did means that you did something that was worth rebooting. It’s an honour.
Depp has played the role in five films across 14 years, which have accumulated box office takings of over $4.5 billion making it the 12th biggest franchise of all time.
Disney is hoping that Jerry Bruckheimer will return to produce the new film.
The most recent Pirates film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2015 with director Joachim Rønning stating it was “only the beginning of the final adventure
Depp’s most recent appearance, in Fantastic Beasts sequel The Crimes of Grindelwald, was criticised after the actor was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife Amber Heard in May 2016. He denied the allegations and settled the case months later.
JK Rowling and David Yates jumped to the actor’s defence with Depp himself stating: “JK has seen the evidence and therefore knows I was falsely accused, and that’s why she has publicly supported me. She would not stand up if she didn’t know the truth.”
The first Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, was released in 2003 and co-starred Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush.
The series is based on the theme park attraction of the same name, with Disney hoping to achieve similar success with new park ride adaptation Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jack Whitehall. It’ll be released this Christmas.
