The very existence of two Pirates of the Caribbean movies that don’t involve Johnny Depp have already been greeted by a mixture of apathy and fury by the actor’s army of fans, who have been very active making their opinions known online recently in case you hadn’t noticed. While you can put forth the argument that no star is technically bigger than the brand, and plenty of franchises have recast top to bottom before, Captain Jack Sparrow is unquestionably the main selling point of the series.
At least the sixth installment in the main timeline has the presence of Jerry Bruckheimer attached to produce and Dead Men Tell No Tales‘ Joachim Ronning returning to direct without partner Espen Sandberg, giving it a sense of familiarity. But the second is being developed by Birds of Prey duo Margot Robbie and Christina Hodson, with the term ‘female-driven spinoff’ more than enough to draw the ire of many a keyboard warrior.
When the Suicide Squad star revealed her Pirates movie will have plenty of girl power, you could almost hear a thousand eyeballs rolling in unison, but insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that the actress wants to make the swashbuckling blockbuster even more progressive by portraying her character as LGBT.
“Margot wants her character in PotC film to be LGBT,” he says.
Of course, those pirates were a promiscuous bunch and love was pretty much love back then without any strings being attached, so in all honesty, there’s probably no need to even put a label on it. However, straight actors playing non-straight characters can often be a thorny issue these days and one that needs to be delicately handled so as not to cause offense. After all, the last thing Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff needs in a post-Depp era is any more backlash.
