Chernobyl Creator & ‘Pirates’ Veteran to Tackle ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Reboot

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has new wind in its sails, as Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and veteran Pirates writer Ted Elliot join the project, according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter.

The move comes as the Pirates franchise finds itself on still waters—in late 2018, Disney hired Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to reboot the series, however, the two left the project in February, 2019.

After the lackluster Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the recent on-and-offscreen controversies surrounding star Johnny Depp, the $4.5 billion franchise is in desperate need of a course correction if it is to stay afloat. With the hiring of Mazin and Elliot, it appears that Disney agrees. The project is in the early stages of development, and it is unclear at this time whether Johnny Depp will reprise his role as the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow.

Elliot, of course, is best known for having co-written the original Pirates movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl as well as three follow-up movies, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End, and On Stranger Tides. He was not involved with the production of the most recent Pirates film, Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Mazin originally comes from the world of comedy, having written multiple installments of the Scary Movie series, as well as The Hangover movies. Most recently, Mazin has won wide-acclaim as the creator of HBO’s Emmy-winning series, Chernobyl.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter