Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Replacement Sounds Better Than POTC 6 With Johnny Depp

Disney may have found a replacement for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and it certainly sounds better than another Johnny Depp-led installment of the franchise. The Pirates of the Caribbean series was a big hit for Disney, with the five films earning a combined box office total of $4.5 billion (via The Numbers). However, the last movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released seven years ago and in the time since, Disney has struggled to come up with a suitable replacement. Now they may have the answer, and it’s a much better prospect than a sixth Pirates film.

Originally based on the popular theme park ride of the same name, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies first started with The Curse of the Black Pearl way back in 2003. The franchise became a showcase for Johnny Depp whose Captain Jack Sparrow has become one of the most recognizable and beloved movie characters of the twenty-first century. A sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie has been confirmed to be in development, but it doesn’t sound half as interesting as another Disney project which could replace the Pirates of the Caribbean films for good.

Disney’s Space Mountain Movie Can Replace Its Pirates Of The Caribbean Franchise

The Studio Is In Need Of A Replacement

After years of being in development hell, Disney’s Space Mountain movie recently got a positive update. Writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec are said to be working on a new version of the script after previously collaborating on 2021’s Cowboy Bebop, as well as the Amazon Prime Video series Citadel and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. While a Space Mountain film is likely still a long way off from coming to fruition, the news that an updated draft of the script is currently in the works demonstrates that Disney is still keen to make it happen.

This is certainly good news. After all, a Space Mountain movie is just the thing Disney needs to fill the Pirates of the Caribbean-shaped hole that has existed ever since the release of Pirates 5. Similarly to the Pirates movies, Space Mountain would take inspiration from the Disney theme park ride of the same name, a space-themed roller-coaster that first opened at Disney World Florida in 1975. Though not all of Disney’s previous attraction-based films, such as Jungle Cruise and Tomorrowland, have been successful, Space Mountain‘s popularity and cosmic theme mean it has the chance to be a hit.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean Franchise Is Struggling (With Or Without Depp)

The Series Has Been On A Downward Trend For A While

Despite being financially successful overall, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have been on something of a downward trend. With each new installment, the films have performed increasingly worse at the domestic box office ever since 2006’s Dead Man’s Chest. The worldwide box office totals for each movie tell a slightly different story, but even they show a sharp drop-off with 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales. There’s a good chance that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 will continue this downward trend.

Additionally, the Pirates of the Caribbean films have experienced a notable drop in quality over the years. While 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl currently holds a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, Dead Men Tell No Tales is stuck with a rotten score of just 30%. In fact, the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie to accumulate a Rotten Tomatoes higher than 50% was 2006’s Dead Man’s Chest, which managed 53%.

Ultimately, what both trends indicate is that audiences and critics have grown tired of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It’s certainly true that, as they went on, the films began to run out of fresh ideas. Johnny Depp played a large role in making the movies the success they once were, but even with his involvement, the franchise started to struggle. It’s understood that Depp won’t be returning for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, but even if that ends up changing, the movie has a big challenge on its hands.

Space Mountain Can Use The POTC Franchise As Its Template

It Can Also Learn From Its Predecessor’s Mistakes

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies may have run their course, but the franchise still works as a good template for Space Mountain going forward. At their heart, The Pirates of the Caribbean films are adventure stories, with each installment delivering a new sea-based caper. Space Mountain could essentially copy this formula but with a space setting instead of the sea. Furthermore, if Space Mountain casts a well-known actor as a charming lead character whom audiences can follow from story to story, the movie could prove to be a hit.

However, possibly the most important reason why Pirates of the Caribbean is a valuable resource for Space Mountain is because the latter can learn from the former’s mistakes. As the series progressed, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies began to repeat ideas and plot points. Almost every installment saw Jack face a new villain with ties to his past. As a result, the films lost a lot of their initial scale and grandeur. A Space Mountain franchise could avoid these pitfalls by striving to keep each entry feeling fresh and not falling back on the same tired tropes.

Source: The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes