updates have kept the continuation of the Disney franchise alive despite a considerable hiatus since the last entry. How the story will continue, and whether Johnny Depp will return remains a mystery though. When :was released, its enormous success was unexpected. Before 2003, pirate movies were seen as guaranteed box office flops, but the franchise has remained popular ever since, constantly proving its international mass appeal and earning Depp an Oscar nomination for his role as Jack Sparrow.

2017's , the , earned close to $800 million worldwide, and Disney first announced plans for another swashbuckling pirate adventure back in 2018.

The studio also has plans to change up the franchise and expand it in the future, so Disney also announced another installment — a reboot with Margot Robbie in the lead role, which was canceled — would go into development alongside the sequel. However, after several years, the filmis still in early development with the release date on the distant horizon. Here's what to expect from the new movie.

While news continues to probe the question of whether or not the franchise's biggest star, Johnny Depp, will return for the sixth movie.

Following his lengthy legal battles and strong fan support, there are reports () that Johnny Depp and Disney could collaborate once again. Depp reportedly felt betrayed by the studio after they seemingly cut ties with him as the legal drama escalated, but now there is word that “.” Clearly, many fans hope that "" would see Depp returning to the role of Jack Sparrow for .

While Depp's involvement in seems to becoming more of a possibility, there may also be new interest in the proposed reboot of the franchise. was initially planned as the continuation of the franchise, but development was then canceled as Disney decided to take yet another new direction for

. However, the recent success of suddenly makes Robbie a very appealing lead for such a big franchise movie. It shows that she is perhaps one of the few actors who could take over the franchise from Depp and make it her own, and her performance in has reopened conversations amongst viewers on social media about why the Margot Robbie isn't going ahead.

It seems that the next movie will be the defining one for the future of the franchise. Disney could feel tempted to return to the proven success of Depp as Jack Sparrow, but there are certainly risks involved. While his fanbase has been strong throughout his legal battles, it is unclear how the larger public feels about the actor.

While there are many who would be eager for a return, there are equally those who'd balk at the idea of Depp once again starring in a family-friendly Disney movie. Meanwhile, Robbie seems ready to carry her own franchise now, but if Disney hesitates to capitalize on her post- fame, she will likely look elsewhere for her next be project.

There's no release date yet, but the new movie isn't dead in the water. After co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick dropped out of the new movie in 2019, Disney chose writers Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott to write the script instead.

Mazin created HBO’s miniseries , while Elliott worked on the first movie . Director Joachim Rønning is also set to return. In late 2022 Jerry Bruckheimer provided a promising update regarding the movie, saying that .

Back in 2018, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production’s President, Sean Bailey, was open to the idea of giving the franchise a “,” saying in an interview ) that the studio wanted to bring new energy to the movies. Speculation and rumors have suggested would be a soft reboot of the franchise, similar to the Transformers prequel spinoff , but it’s unclear what would be wiped out from the series’ past storylines and timeline.

As of 2023, there’s still no confirmed release date. The script is still in development, so fans will likely have to wait until mid-to-late 2024, or 2025, for any concrete news. The last three installments, , , and , dominated the box office on Memorial Day weekend, and it seems likely the sixth movie would be released around the same period to carry on this success. However, due to production delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, there's still no news on what year will release, never mind a specific date.

With the exception of and (filmed back-to-back in 2005), a four to five-year wait between movies has been the norm. Despite Bruckheimer hinting that the script was near completion for several years, his comments in recent interviews () suggest that the script is only now being developed by Elliot.Currently, the project hasn't left pre-production. Despite being announced way back in 2018, the next installment in Disney's is probably still a few years from hitting screens.

The final casthasn't been confirmed.

There's been plenty of speculation floating around online, however. Both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly have been rumored to make a possible return to the franchise as Will and Elizabeth Turner. However, when , she seemed content with saying ""This is an exciting prospect for many fans since neither of the characters were truly present in the 4th and 5th installments. There's also considerable demand for fan favorites like Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa or Joshamee Gibbs, played by Kevin McNally. However, nothing has been confirmed by Disney, the respective actors, or Bruckheimer.

There's no shortage of names in

pool. Bill Nighy has expressed the desire to play the iconic villain Davy Jones once again. Lee Arenberg, who played the pirate Pintel, is another past cast member happy to appear in another movie. Beyond willing actors, nothing indicates either character will return, though. Actress Kaya Scodelario revealed to in 2017 that she’d been contracted for another movie and was interested in returning as Carina Smyth. This indicates Disney has or had plans for Smyth after discovering she was Barbossa's daughter in .

It's worth noting that, since has been in development so long, the news of the final cast is forever changing.

Margot Robbie was attached to the project at one point, and Kaya Scoledario's Carina Smyth return was hinted at six years ago (when the franchise plans were likely very different). While the important positive takeaway is that the actors and actresses involved seem to be interested in returning, any cast news is entirely speculative at this point. The big question of course lingers around Johnny Depp's return as Jack Sparrow. Over the years this has gone from near-certainty in the time directly after was released, to reportedly an absolute impossibility around the time of his legal troubles, to a huge unknown as of 2023.

The story details are unclear as it is still not decided which direction the franchise will take going forward. Details have been scarce, but it's known Disney wants a female-driven story. Recently changed from captive to pirate queen, the character of would be a welcomed addition to the franchise that gives a nod to the ride that started it all. Originally, Margot Robbie's involvement asa new character, was thought to mean that she could bring Redd to the screen. However, the Margot Robbie movie was subsequently canceled, meaning audiences are still left in the dark as to what the

plot could be.

Since the film is in the earliest stages of development, there is no trailer. Audiences will simply have to wait until the film is out of its development stages with production wrapped before anything on this front can be confirmed. This includes teasers, photos, and facts, as well as anything else revealed about the production process.

Many were confused that there were in the mix, one of them being led by Margot Robbie and an all-female pirate crew.

However, Robbie's project has been canceled. Apparently, the all-female pirate story was not meant to be , but rather, its own property penned by Christina Hodson, who also wrote . The two were first attached to the project in 2020, but for reasons unknown, Disney decided not to give the film a chance, which at least clears up the confusion around the multiple new movies.

According to Robbie, she was excited about the prospect of setting sail on the high seas, but unfortunately, because Disney simply didn't want it. The actress said, is still being worked on by Disney studios, with the latest update being that a script is finally being written.