ProducerJerry Bruckheimerhas seemingly confirmedPirates of the Caribbean 6.While talking toComicbook.comabout the success ofTop Gun: Maverick, Bruckheimer revealed thatPirates of the Caribbean 6is happening, with Ted Elliott, the veteran screenwriter behindAladdinandShrek,penning the script. Elliott, along with Terry Rossio, also wrote the first four movies of thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise. Here’s what Bruckheimer said:

“I’m very excited, it’s going to be terrific. We’re just putting this together right now. We’re still working on the screenplay, but it’s very unique and has one of the original writers who wrote the first one, Ted Elliott; he’s writing it. He’s got a great command of the language, and he writes great characters and tells terrific stories.”

Jack Sparrow Fans Demand That Johnny Depp Return in Margot Robbie’s New Pirates Movie

After the colossal success ofTop Gun: Maverick, Bruckheimer seems to have jumped on the legacy sequel bandwagon as he also gave promising updates onNational Treasure 3andBeverly Hills Cop 4, which begins production this month. Bruckheimer is planning to bring Nicolas Cage back forNational Treasure3 as well, but Cage’s reluctance to join mainstream movies could complicate the matter.Bad Boys 4is also moving forward,though it will be a few years before the film goes into production due to the Will Smith slapgate scandal.

Related:Pirates of the Caribbean 6 with Margot Robbie: How Have Fans Reacted?

Johnny Depp Could Return In Pirates Of The Caribbean 6, But It’s A Long Shot

Johnny Depp’sPirates of the Caribbeanreturn could be in the cards if Bruckheimer is planning a direct sequel. He confirmed a few months back thattwoPirates of the Caribbeanmovies were in development, one starring Margot Robbie and one without her. Christina Hodson(Birds of Prey, The Flash)is reportedly writing Robbie’s female-led spinoff, and Ted Elliott could be working on the other one, considering his franchise experience.

However, it’s possible that Bruckheimer and Elliott are working on Robbie’s movie only since Johnny Depp has made it clear that he has no intention of ever returning to the franchise. And aPirates of the Caribbeanmovie, without Depp as Jack Sparrow or without the character at all, doesn’t make sense, nor would it play well with fans.

Johnny Depp, on the other hand, is devastated that he never got a chance to bid goodbye to the beloved franchise. Hefeels betrayed by Disney and wouldn’t work with the studio againeven if they came to him with $300 million and a million alpacas, as he swore in his defamation trial against Amber Heard. And he has every right to be angry since Disney fired him without allowing him to make his case but continued to profit off his name.

“They didn’t remove my character from the rides. They didn’t stop selling dolls of Captain Jack Sparrow. They didn’t stop selling anything. They just didn’t want there to be something trailing behind me that they’d find.”

Depp’s reps have also squashed recent rumors of his return, so unless the ongoing fan petition really makes some headway, we’ll have to assume that Robbie will be the new face of the franchise. But one thing is for certain, a sixth swashbuckling adventure in thePirates of the Caribbeanseries is happening, but there’s no word if it’ll be a spinoff, reboot, or a sequel.