Move over, Jack Sparrow. Disney has decided that a new film in its massively successful
Pirates of The Caribbean franchise will set sail with an all-female cast captained by none other than Margot Robbie. The Academy Award-nominated actor will helm at least one movie (but, knowing Disney, more likely an entire series of stories) set in the
Pirates universe. The forthcoming film will see her reteam with her
Birds of Prey collaborator, writer Christina Hodson.If the casting decision strikes you as a good (or even obvious) choice, it’s likely because Robbie has found so much success at the intersection of action and comedy. She stole scenes in
Suicide Squad as Harley Quinn, landing the character a solo spinoff movie, and she shone as Tonya Harding in the biopic
I, Tonya, using her humour and charm to shed an empathetic light on the disgraced figure skater.Following her early successes, Robbie has also become an advocate for female-led filmmaking. She’ll pair with director Great Gerwig on a recently announced live-action
Barbie film, which promises to portray the doll’s life through a feminist lens. Naturally, Robbie will play the title character, set to be reimagined as an imperfect version of her traditionally perfect self. She’ll also lead a new version of the Robin Hood tale — one that puts her character, Marian, at the centre of the story in the wake of Robin's death.For
Pirates, Robbie won’t be reprising Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow, reports
Variety. Disney is said to still be pursuing
a separate reboot of that story. Instead, she’ll be given an all-new role to play. (We imagine, however, that there will be canonical links between Robbie’s character and Sparrow.) While producers have stood by their former star, Depp’s legal and personal dramas haven’t exactly been doing any favours for his career or for the projects he’s attached to. A public outcry followed the decision to keep him on for the third
Fantastic Beasts film, due out in 2021 (COVID willing).Robbie’s star is rising, though. Not only that, but she’s using her fame to make changes in the industry. She and Hodson, a veteran writer of action and comic book movie scripts, founded the Lucky Exports Pitch Program to boost the visibility of female-identifying writers trying to break into the male-dominated action film world.While Robbie’s debut as a swashbuckler is still a few years away, fans can catch her opposite Viola Davis, Taika Watiti, Pete Davidson and Idris Elba in
The Suicide Squad (yes, a new one) next summer.[video_embed id='1893257']Before you go: Margot Robbie says she never wants to limit who her movies are made for[/video_embed]
