While Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow seems unlikely to return for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, audiences can find a silver lining in the sequel’s choice of screenwriter, original Pirates of the Caribbean scribe Ted Elliott. As of August 2022, it does not look like Johnny Depp will be back as Jack Sparrow in the long-delayed sequel Pirates of the Caribbean 6. However, the sequel’s screenwriter could guarantee that the much-delayed franchise installment will still feel like a classic Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Legendary blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently confirmed that the sequel is happening only a few months after he admitted that were two separate sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movies being worked on at the same time and neither was complete. While the status of Margot Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff isn’t clear, what is clear is that a direct sequel titled Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is currently being written. It is also being scripted by one of the original movie’s screenwriters, a promising development for the series.

Related: Pirates of the Caribbean: Pintel And Ragetti’s Backstory ExplainedOriginal Pirates of the Caribbean co-writer Ted Elliott is currently writing Pirates of the Caribbean 6, bringing his “great command of the characters” to the project according to Bruckheimer. While the absence of Depp’s Jack Sparrow may leave some fans feeling like Pirates of the Caribbean 6 won’t be able to recapture the feeling of the earlier movies in the series, Elliott’s pedigree might dispel that notion. As well as working on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Elliott was also involved in some of the biggest blockbusters of the 90s and 00s.

Why Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Update Is Exciting

Catherine Zeta-Jones Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins The Mask of Zorro

One of the biggest blockbuster screenwriters of the 21st century, Ted Elliott had a hand in all five of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the National Treasure franchise, both of the Zorro movies, and Shrek. He also has credits on the original, animated Aladdin and Joe Dante's underrated Small Soldiers and, although his career does include some duds like Treasure Planet and The Lone Ranger, even these financially disappointing outings were later seen as under-appreciated by critics if not audiences. Elliott’s career is one of the more impressive blockbuster screenwriting runs in recent Hollywood history, with most of his projects garnering solid reviews if not outright acclaim.

However, audiences might reasonably remain unconvinced of the potential of Pirates of the Caribbean 6. After all, Pirates of the Caribbean’s later, lesser sequels were disliked by casual audiences and critics alike, and Elliott was involved in their scriptwriting process. Not only that, but Elliott wrote the original Pirates of the Caribbean with long-time writing partner Terry Rossio, who has not yet been announced as one of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 scribes. As such, the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has brought back a pivotal piece of the franchise’s successful creative team might not be enough to convince some skeptical viewers. That said, the chances of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 feeling like a legitimate Pirates of the Caribbean franchise installment despite Depp’s likely absence feel a lot stronger now.