In one of the more “why the hell didn’t I think of that?!?” announcements in recent memory, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news Friday that Margot Robbie is developing a Pirates of the Caribbean film. No director has been announced and no release date is set, but Margot Robbie is going to be buckling some swash on a boat. This is a recipe for success.
Christina Hodson, who wrote Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), is attached to write what THR is calling a “female-fronted” script. Importantly, this film is not related to the gestating reboot that Pirates originator Ted Elliot and Chernobyl scribe Craig Mazin are working on. It’s its own thing.
That’s all the info currently known, but there’s no reason not to daydream a little about how this movie might look. Will Robbie’s character be any relation to Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow? Maybe Jacqueline Sparrow? Eh, probably not. Will she wear similar eye shadow and speak with a Keith Richards-like slur? Possibly! Will she drink rum? That one’s more likely.
The Pirates franchise has grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide, spread across five films. It is the 14th highest grossing series of all time.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
— The 10 Best Movies of 2020 (So Far)
— Review: Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods Is Gold
— The Wild Life and Many Loves of Ava Gardner
— Inside Pete Davidson and John Mulaney’s “Make-A-Wish” Friendship
— Now Streaming: Over 100 Years of Black Defiance at the Movies
— Is TV Sabotaging Itself With Shrinking Shows?
— From the Archive: Exposing MGM’s Smear Campaign Against Rape Survivor Patricia Douglas
Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.