Disney has hired “Pirates of the Caribbean” veteran Ted Elliott and “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin to develop a story for its reboot of the franchise.
Jerry Bruckheimer is expected to produce as he has on the previous five entries in the series. Disney hired the “Deapool” writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick last year to reboot the franchise but the duo is no longer on board.
Elliott teamed with Terry Rossio on the first four films, starting with 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and followed by “Dead Man’s Chest,” “At World’s End,” and “On Stranger Tides.” Jeff Nathanson wrote the script on 2017’s “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” based on a story by himself and Rossio.
Mazin worked on installments of the “Scary Movie” and “Hangover” franchises. He wrote and produced the five-part miniseries “Chernobyl” for HBO and Sky.
The five previous “Pirates” movies, all starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, grossed $1.5 billion domestically and $3.07 billion internationally, with the North American market representing a progressively smaller share. The domestic total for 2017’s “Dead Men Tell No Tales” hit $172 million, while foreign markets delivered $622 million.
All five films have grossed more than $650 million worldwide, with “Dead Man’s Chest” and “On Stranger Tides” both topping the $1 billion mark.