Austin Butler may or may not plunge into the pirate-infested waters of Disney with this one.
Since the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie – which was seven long years ago – there has been a volley of rumors about a potentially brand new Jack Sparrow in the franchise. Even now, while a sixth installment is in the works, Johnny Depp’s return as the iconic pirate remains a mystery.
Meanwhile, Butler has finally addressed the scuttlebutt about him stepping into Depp’s shoes as the irreverent and comic pirate of the Seven Seas.
Austin Butler on Joining Pirates of the Caribbean Rumors
In March, Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer divulged that they plan to reboot the franchise so they wouldn’t have to “wait for certain actors” (via Comicbook). A month or so later, the DisInsider reported that Disney apparently has its sights set on Elvis star Austin Butler for the fabled adventure franchise that Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow has steered for all five films.
While speaking to ET, Butler, 32, admitted that though he wasn’t aware of such rumors, he’s been a Pirates of the Caribbean fan since childhood. Perhaps it’s precisely because the Pirates films are close to his heart that the Oscar-nominated actor is uncertain about the prospect of joining the billion-dollar Disney franchise.
Not to mention, Depp’s legendary Jack Sparrow is not a character one surpasses so easily, the worth of which Butler himself recognizes.
“It’s a hard one to touch because they did it so well. I loved what Johnny [Depp] did with that.”
All We Know About Pirates of the Caribbean 6
Bruckheimer, 80, has already confirmed that the new outing will be a complete reboot, which means there will be less room for familiar faces in the forthcoming film.
Rumors floated a couple of years ago that Barbie star Margot Robbie was going to make a new Pirates movie, but she later told Vanity Fair that Disney wasn’t really up for it anymore. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, however, Bruckheimer came bearing good news.
Turns out, the female-led feature that Robbie was alluding to is different from the reboot that the Top Gun producer has in store for fans. “We hope to get ’em both made, and I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one, too,” Bruckheimer said.
So far, Jeff Nathanson – who penned the screenplay for the fifth film Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) – has boarded Pirates of the Caribbean 6 as the writer. However, no actor has been attached to the project yet, and while the film is in development, no release date has been announced either.
