Pirates of the Caribbean reboot loses Deadpool writers

Plans to reboot the hit film franchise without Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow appeared to be going ahead, particularly following the announcement that Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writing team behind Deadpool and Zombieland, were onboard to work on the sixth instalment.

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However, the pair have now reportedly left the project, with Deadline reporting that their departure leaves the future of the project uncertain.

Reese and Wernick's involvement was first confirmed by Disney in October 2018.

Disney's film production chief Sean Bailey said at the time, "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."

The franchise's fifth instalment, Dead Men Tell No Tales (also known as Salazar's Revenge in some countries) was released back in 2017, starring Depp and Javier Bardem.