More reports have surfaced surrounding the future of The Walt Disney Company’s billion-dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. A scoop claims that the female-led movie, which was once in development with Barbie star Margot Robbie, is still underway with a whole new star.

Credit: Disney

Ever since actor Johnny Depp lost his libel trial in London in 2020, fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise have wondered if the House of Mouse would ever pick the series back up, and if they did, would Depp be back to star as Captain Jack Sparrow?

Two years later, during the highly-publicized defamation trial, it was shared that Disney was moving ahead with a female-led project, essentially replacing Depp’s beloved main character with an all-new hero in the spinoff.

However, the project fell through (according to Margot Robbie), with producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirming that work on the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 screenplay was underway, instead.

It’s unclear what direction Disney and Bruckheimer will take with the future of Pirates–even if the latter did tell The Hollywood Reporter in December 2022 that he’d love to work with Depp once again.

A new scoop, however, suggests that the studio may be putting the cogs in motion to launch a new Pirates of the Caribbean era with a whole new cast.

According to entertainment insider Daniel Richtman, AKA DanielRPK (via Koimoi), Disney is moving forward with a female-led Pirates of the Caribbean, eyeing up Emmy-winning star of The Bear, Ayo Edebiri, for the role of Anne, supposedly the new lead.

The scooper added that Disney is looking to kick off this era with a younger cast looking for hidden treasure.

This is not a surprise, considering Bruckheimer also confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter in late 2022 that development was happening on both the Margot Robbie project and one featuring a younger cast.

When questioned over why Margot Robbie had said the project was dead, the producer said it is very much “alive.”

Credit: FXP

A new beginning for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is likely what Disney needs, but even with a buzzy up-and-coming star like Edebiri, the shadow of Johnny Depp will linger for many years to come.

Jack Sparrow first entered the pop culture canon in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and quickly became one of the most recognizable and beloved fictional characters of all time.

Depp’s role as Sparrow–which Disney contested at first–is the actor’s biggest commercial success of his career.

The footprint Depp left on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is perhaps too big to cover up. In fact, one could argue that there is no Pirates series without Depp and that the removal of one means the death of the other.

If the trailer featuring him and Jenna Ortega as Jack Sparrow’s daughter is anything to go by, the response to Depp’s involvement or absence will be passionate, to say the least.

It will be interesting to see how fan reception plays out once a Pirates of the Caribbean 6 project–if any–gets announced.

Even with the court case loss in 2020, fan support remained high for the Hollywood star, and his win over ex-wife Amber Heard at the defamation trial in 2022 saw the actor reignite his film work with Jeanne du Barry (2023) and Modi (TBD), which he is directing.

Heard most recently appeared in Warner Bros.’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) from director James Wan. It is the last film in the DC Extended Universe.

During the defamation trial, Depp said he would not return to Disney for $300 million and a million alpacas. Only time will tell what direction the Mouse House will steer the ship, but there’s something stirring in the deep, that’s for sure.

Would you like to see Ayo Edebiri star in this reported female-led Pirates of the Caribbean 6? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!