The abandoned all-girl adaptation of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ starring Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie has been attached to many projects over the course of her career, working her way through all the top directors in Hollywood and becoming one of the most in-demand actors of her generation.
From her early days in the Australian soap Neighbours to her high-profile collaborations with Martin Scorsese and Damien Chazelle in The Wolf of Wall Street and Babylon, and more recently with Barbie, Margot Robbie’s creative ambition seems boundless. That same instinct has also led her toward more unusual ventures, including a controversial adaptation of Wuthering Heights and the unexpected acquisition of the rights to make Monopoly and The Sims films—projects audiences aren’t entirely sure they want.
But regardless, there is no denying her love for the medium and commitment to innovation, entering a new stage of her career through her work as a producer and championing female stories through her production company, Lucky Chap Entertainment. Using this platform, Robbie has realised the stories of characters, both real and imagined, from the infamous Tonya Harding to the twisted visions of Emerald Fennell. However, there is just one story that didn’t quite make it despite the possibilities of being the perfect addition to her roster.
Robbie has prioritised female-led narratives throughout her career, whether it be her portrayal of Harley Quinn and the subsequent instalment of her adventures in which she assembles a team of women to complete a revenge mission or Bombshell, a true story following the women at Fox News as they take down Roger Allies after the network’s sexual abuse scandal.
While many of these stories both portray true-life stories and champion new ones by emerging and established female directors, there was one that Robbie tried to get off the ground, with the actor climbing onboard a Pirates of the Caribbean remake with an all-female cast.
The pirate franchise is one of the most commercially successful of all time, with the story of Captain Jack Sparrow and his exceptionally average talent yet bewitching charisma making a splash with global audiences. However, it’s not a particularly diverse story, which somewhat makes sense given that there were far more male pirates. Nevertheless, it was a story that Robbie was keen to rework and inject with a touch of historical revisionism.
However, when discussing this, Robbie explained her struggles with bringing the idea to life, saying, “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.”
The idea of a revised Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t a bad idea, especially given the atrocities of the later instalments of the franchise, which many of us are still trying to forget. While Robbie may not have been able to create this story back then, there is no doubt that she possesses far more sway and power in the industry now as one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. Perhaps the idea is still a potential prospect for the actor?
