Hired by Disney, screenwriter Craig Mazin (The Last of Us) thought his script for “Pirates of the Caribbean 6” was “too weird” and would not be validated by the studio.
Craig Mazin, screenwriter of the hit series Chernobyl and The Last of Us, has been hired by Disney to write the screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 alongside Ted Elliott, already at work on the first four films in the franchise carried by Johnny Depp.
Recently interviewed by the Los Angeles TimesCraig Mazin said the script they wrote was “too weird” and they thought the studio was going to reject it. Yet Disney validated it.
We presented it and we thought there was no way they would buy it, it was too weird. But they did!
He adds : “He [Ted Elliott] then wrote a fantastic script, then the strike happened and now everyone is waiting.”
The screenwriter, who also worked on Dune 2 alongside Denis Villeneuve, therefore reveals that the scenario for the sixth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga is ready. Disney could therefore launch pre-production as soon as the writers’ and actors’ strike is over.
An “exciting story” according to Disney
It is still unknown what the story will be and if Johnny Depp will be back in the film. Last June, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, declared on this subject to the New York Times that no actor had yet been hired.
Regarding the script, he said: “We think we have a very good story. An exciting story, which pays homage to previous films, but also has something new to contribute.”
Released in 2017, Salazar’s Revenge grossed $795 million worldwide. Jack Sparrow faced an enemy from the past, Captain Salazar played by Javier Bardem, and shared the bill with Orlando Bloom and newcomers Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites.
disney Kaya Scodelario, Johnny Depp and Brenton Thwaites
Note that to date there are two film projects on Pirates of the Caribbean: the sixth opus of the parent saga written by Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin and a female spin-off announced for several years and supposed to be led by Margot Robbie.
But in November 2022, the actress, currently in the casting of Barbie, declared that the project was abandoned. However, a few weeks later, historic producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Variety that the project had simply been shelved in favor of Pirates 6.
He stated thus: “I think that scenario will come back to the fore at some point. We developed two different stories for Pirates and the other moves faster, so that’s the one we favor.” It is not known if Margot Robbie will still be the headliner of this new feature film.