Word arrived on a trading ship around a year ago that Disney was looking to throw the reboot switch and craft a new iteration of its hugely successful (though fading) Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise. The journey has taken a new turn, as Chernobyl creator (and recent Emmy winner) Craig Mazin is now working alongside franchise veteran Ted Elliott to craft a fresh story.
When last we heard of the idea to make new movies based off of the classic theme park attraction, the news was that Deadpool duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick would be the people to script original wind into the narrative sails, but they left the developing project early this year.
Now it would seem that the Mouse House wants to blend veteran thinking (Elliott has written four of the films, including kick-off pic The Curse Of The Black Pearl) and fresh ideas (Mazin cranked out three Hangover scripts, The Huntsman: Winter's War and was a contributor to the incoming new Charlie's Angels).
A big question is whether Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow will be part of any new film. Given Depp's more recent issues and the waning appeal of Jack on screen, he may be left venturing to other places while a replacement crew hunts macguffins and has supernatural encounters.