Disney's film chief has confirmed the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot won't include Johnny Depp. The first movie in the series (2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl) was an unexpected critical and commercial success when it hit theaters, thanks in no small part to Depp's - eventually, Oscar-nominated - performance as the incorrigible scalawag Jack Sparrow. While Jack was a supporting character in the original film, he gradually evolved into a full-blown protagonist over the course of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels that followed.

Unfortunately, the critical and general audience response has gotten collectively worse with each passing Pirates movie, culminating with last year's poorly-received Dead Men Tell No Tales. That movie was also a box office disappointment (despite turning a profit), and has since spurred the Mouse House to set to work on a reboot of the property. However, it hasn't been clear if Depp's Jack Sparrow will participate in this passing of the torch or not... not until now, anyway.

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Disney live-action film chief Sean Bailey confirmed the news during an interview with THR about the studio's upcoming slate of non-animated movie offerings. The conversation eventually turned to the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot, which is currently being scripted by Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Bailey confirmed that Depp's character isn't part of the project, explaining:

We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that's what I've tasked them with.

For anyone who's kept up with Depp's career trajectory, this news shouldn't come as a surprise. The actor has been increasingly plagued by personal scandals in recent years, ranging from domestic abuse allegations by his ex-wife Amber Heard to a lawsuit that resulted in his drama, City of Lies, being indefinitely shelved after Depp allegedly assaulted the film's location manager. Admittedly, Depp's draw power at the box office had started to diminish before those things happened, but these controversies have only sped things up. At this stage, putting Depp in your movie seems more likely to damage your film's commercial prospects than improve them (see also: what's happening with the Fantastic Beasts series).

Still, even if all that wasn't an issue, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have seemingly run out of interesting story ideas involving Jack Sparrow, and could do with a truly fresh start (if they're to continue at all, of course). Dead Men Tell No Tales was intended to soft reboot the franchise but, in the wake of the sequel's negative reception, a hard restart might be the smarter way to go now. Either way you cut it, Depp's Captain Sparrow appears to have sailed his final voyage.

MORE: How a Pirates of the Caribbean Reboot Can Fix the Franchise

We will bring you more details on the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot as they become available.

Source: THR

Johnny Depp has a history of making amazing movies, and Pirates of the Caribbean is no exception to that rule. Since 2003, this light hearted action adventure movie has been cashing in on its worldwide box office successes. With each of the four movies grossing almost 1 billion dollars apiece, this hit movie series has earned nearly 4 billion dollars worldwide. Because of its continuing success, Walt Disney Pictures has scheduled the release of a fifth movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales which is scheduled to come out May 26th 2017. Like the movies before it, Dead Man Tells No Tales will feature Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and will again be directed by Rob Marshall. In the meantime, scroll down below to watch the trailer.

When people first encounter this series, they wonder if they should watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order. I would say after watching all of them, it’s not necessary to watch them in any sort of order. Each movie is its own separate plot line, and they’re all independent from each other. However, like many series, the first flick probably does a better job at introducing characters than the subsequent releases. For this reason, I would recommend watching them in the order in which they were released, but it really isn’t that important.

Unlike many popular movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean has not been seen much in popular culture. It’s actually kind of unusual – there are no games, books, or TV shows that branch off of the original movies. However, with that said, this series is undeniably successful. In each of the releases, the worldwide box office gross was nearly 1 billion dollars. This puts Pirates of the Caribbean among the 50 highest grossing movies of all times. Just because popular culture has not yet adapted this hit, does not mean it’s failing at the box office!

As many movie fans know, critical response often does not measure the success. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has been continually rating Pirates of the Caribbean movies lower and lower, with the final release marked at a 33%. However, because of the ongoing profits, a new movie Dead Men Tell No Tales is already underway and will be ready by 2017. Following previous releases, Terry Rossio will be in charge of the screen play and is working closely with Johnny Depp.

The success in this movie comes in part from the fact that it’s enjoyable for all ages and genders. There’s action, comedy, and it’s all mixed together with some adventure. Johnny Depp does an excellent job at portraying his character, and will lead this franchise into the future. No matter what order you decide to watch this series in, you’re sure to enjoy yourself regardless.