Back in 2020, we got word that Disney and writer Christina Hodson's female-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean movie had enlisted Birds of Prey star Margot Robbie to take the lead. Though the Aussie actress would later confirm her involvement, updates have been few and far between since, and we now know why.
When asked about the project during an interview with Vanity Fair, Robbie revealed that her POTC movie is dead in the water (no pun intended).
“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led—not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story—which we thought would’ve been really cool, but I guess they don’t want to do it."
Apparently, the movie was to be "a wholly original story with new characters under the Pirates moniker," and wasn't actually being developed as a spin-off of the block-busting franchise featuring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Though unconfirmed, it was rumoured that Robbie was set to play Redd; the popular meet-and-greet character from the Disney Parks attraction.
As far as we know, there is also another POTC project in the works with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and previous Pirates movies writer Ted Elliot.
Robbie is still attached to star in and produce an Oceans Eleven prequel, and is expected to reprise the role of Harley Quinn at some point.