Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has insisted Margot Robbie is “still involved” with Pirates of the Caribbean, despite the Harley Quinn actress saying her female-focused entry in the franchise was canceled three years ago.
Robbie's involvement with Pirates of the Caribbean stretches back to 2020, when she was announced as the star of a new movie written by Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson. Bruckhimer was said to be producing both Robbie's project and a second film with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, but nothing has come of these plans to date.
Robbie said in 2022 that she didn't think Disney wanted to make her concept for the franchise a reality. "We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story — which we thought would've been really cool," Robbie said at the time. "But I guess they don't want to do it."
Then, in May last year, Bruckheimer appeared to counter cancelation talk, insisting: “I think Disney agrees they really want to make the Margot one.”
But again, nothing has emerged, and Robbie herself has provided no indication that the movie is back on. Bruckheimer, though, has once again suggested that Robbie’s Pirates movie could actually happen, providing an update to The Wrap.
“We’re working on a script. It’s always on the page; if we don’t have it on the page, it’s not gonna get on the screen,” Bruckheimer said. “We had two scripts at one point, and then one kinda dropped out, and then we kinda went on with the other one.”
Bruckheimer was asked if it was the Robbie film that dropped out: “Well, she’s still involved.”
What does that mean, exactly? It’s hard to tell, but it could mean that Robbie may star in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, which he has talked up recently. Indeed, Bruckheimer confirmed that Ted Elliott, who co-wrote the first four Pirates films, was involved with the script that moved forward.
In August, Bruckheimer said he had spoken to Johnny Depp about returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6. "If he likes the way the part's written, I think he would do it," Bruckheimer told Entertainment Weekly. "It's all about what's on the page, as we all know."
The script was described as being “close” to completion, with work still to be done. Any return to the Pirates franchise for Depp would be surprising, given Disney cut ties with the actor (he claimed this was the result of the publication of a 2018 op-ed in which his ex-wife, Amber Heard, wrote that she had been a victim of domestic abuse).
Speaking recently, Orlando Bloom said he was open to returning as Will Turner after sailing off into the sunset with Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann back in 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
And speaking in June, Bruckheimer confirmed "some" previous Pirates of the Caribbean actors would return for the next movie, while offering "a new take" on the franchise overall.
When asked whether a new take meant an all-new cast, Bruckheimer replied: "Well, not all new actors. We'll have some back... I’m not going to tell you which ones — you'll have to guess."
As for Margot Robbie, her next film is Gothic erotic psychological drama Wuthering Heights, due out in 2026. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has said the future of Robbie‘s much-loved portrayal of Harley Quinn in his new DC Universe "will be revealed down the line." Robbie is also reportedly in early conversations to join Tim Burton's remake of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman.
Meanwhile, Depp is slowly but surely returning to the limelight. He’s currently working on creating the character of Hyde for a new graphic novel — and Ridley Scott is involved.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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