Deadpool Writers Abandon Ship On Pirates Reboot

Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the irreverent minds behinds Deadpool and Deadpool 2, have reportedly departed Disney’s forthcoming reboot of their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Now, sources close to the production give conflicted accounts of what comes next; with some suggesting that the search for a new writing team could begin as early as next week, whilst others suggest that Disney may be packing in the original-creation live-action game for good – leaving the market to their remakes of animated classics, and studio-owned tentpole franchises of Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but nobody seems to be certain as of yet.

The news is surprising, given Disney Film Creative Chief Sean Bailey’s palpable excitement over the hiring of Reese and Wernick a few months ago. He’d even given several interviews on the matter, exuberating on how the screenwriters were set to “make Pirates punk rock again” and give the franchise a much-needed “kick in the pants”.

No one is clear on precisely why the two writers left the project, with the age-old “creative differences” being mumbled about here and there without any real, concrete reasoning. But with the deliberate and calculated mission statement of returning the franchise to something charismatic and fresh, sans Johnny Depp’s tired Jack Sparrow routine, and with Disney’s seeming aversion to anything approaching something other than ‘guaranteed profit’, it’s not hard to see where troubles could arise.

It’s unlikely that the studio will leave the brand name on the shelf for too long, however, even if they do decide to get out of the original IP live-action game – with some higher-ups suggesting a Pirates of the Caribbean television show could be on the cards.