Thoughts on a Female-Fronted Pirates of the Caribbean

Before some of you jump down to the comments to express your anger at the thought of a female-led Pirates of the Caribbean, I want to point out that this project has nothing to do with the franchise reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean which is being developed by Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin.

No, Margot Robbie is getting her chance to lead a major potential franchise along with…Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson.

Hmmm.

This is all new so plot details haven’t come out yet but it looks like this won’t be a spinoff of the Jack Sparrow franchise but an original story with new characters under the Pirates moniker.

I’ll call it now that they’ll find a way to spin something from Pirates into this movie in order to increase its chances for success. This is Disney we’re talking about. Plus, Jerry Bruckheimer is attached to produce both the Elliot/Mazin project and this new Robbie/Hodson project. 

In case you needed to be reminded, Pirates of the Caribbean is a massive franchise that’s made plenty of money. How much? It has grossed over $4.5 billion on five feature films and even though the last couple haven’t been as successful, they’re still quite viable and making lots of people rich. The studio has been planning for ways to revive the brand, with new stories from new talent.

Enter Robbie and Hodson. Hodson’s resume is up for debate with Birds of Prey and the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. Not to mention another DC project, The Flash, which has Michael Keaton reprising his famous role of Batman. Oh, and a Batgirl project.

Robbie is in need of a strong franchise to keep her breakout star reputation and this has the early makings of doing that. Oh, and before you try to bring up Cutthroat Island as an excuse, remember that came out in 1995 and is actually better than it was given credit for. The problems that sunk that have nothing to do with this latest project. 

Hopefully they’ll mine the rich history of lady pirates, which there is plenty. If you don’t believe me, Google is your friend. Of course it will have the Disney stamp on it so things won’t go too far but let’s keep an open mind on things. 

OK. what’s your excitement level for this…or for any more Pirates movies, reboots included.