The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is a pretty big franchise in regards to its popularity and its cost to make. Despite being relatively successful throughout its run, its popularity doesn’t seem to be as big as it used to be with its latest film Dead Men Tell No Tales earning the second lowest in the series earning over $790 million at the box-office with the lowest being the first entry, The Curse of the Black Pearl. The first installment’s gross is understandable since it’s well… the first but Dead Men Tell No Tales‘ numbers are pretty underwhelming considering its predecessor On Stranger Tides‘ box-office numbers hitting the billion dollar mark worldwide.
On Stranger Tides had a whopping $378.5 million making it the most expensive film ever made. One of the reasons for that would have to be its star Johnny Depp who has been a staple in every one of its films even earning an Oscar nomination for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. However, it is unlikely that Depp would be returning to the planned Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, hell, Disney’s live-action film chief Sean Bailey confirmed that he wouldn’t be returning for the reboot and that may very well save the production a ton of cash.
According to Forbes, Disney would be able to save themselves $90 million if Depp doesn’t come back to the franchise as that’s the figure the actor was earning per film and god, that’s a pretty big figure. That’s not to say that Disney can’t afford it cause the company probably uses hundred dollar bills for toilet paper but it’s still something to take into account considering that they’re looking for a fresh take on this franchise.
Well, now you have another reason to not bring Depp back on top of his contentious place in the media these days. However, it would be better to start fresh and with Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on board to write the script, we can expect something different from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise moving forward.
Source: Forbes
