There’s something bittersweet about watching an actor beg for a reunion that probably won’t happen. At Fan Expo Chicago 2025, Orlando Bloom — forever the blacksmith turned sea-rogue Will Turner — told fans that the only way Pirates of the Caribbean 6 works is if “everybody” comes back. By “everybody,” we all know what he means: Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush. The crew that gave Disney its first billion-dollar gamble that actually paid off.
And yet… let’s be honest. The face missing from Bloom’s plea isn’t on the posters. It’s behind the camera. Gore Verbinski, the director of the original trilogy — the wild-eyed ringmaster who staged duels on spinning waterwheels and made cursed skeleton pirates look operatic instead of cartoonish. Without him, the sequels were ships without a compass.
Bloom’s optimism is touching. He even tossed out a question about whether Disney should introduce a female Jack Sparrow-type lead — an echo of the shelved Margot Robbie spin-off announced in 2020, which Robbie herself confirmed was dead in 2022. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has since insisted to Entertainment Weekly that both a reboot and Robbie’s film remain “alive,” though nothing has set sail. Dead promises tell no tales, either.
The irony? Pirates 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) already tried the legacy-sequel formula — pairing Jack with Will and Elizabeth’s son Henry and Barbossa’s daughter Carina. It fizzled. The post-credits tease with Bill Nighy’s Davy Jones returning? Never cashed in. Because the truth is simple: some characters had perfect exits. Will reunited with Elizabeth after his decade of servitude. Jones died in the arms of the sea goddess Calypso. Those arcs closed with the grandeur of myth.
What never closed was Verbinski’s aesthetic. His Pirates films are messy, sure — At World’s End is an overstuffed feast, too much worldbuilding on one plate — but they had bite. Danger. Musicality. The camera danced. Compare that to the flat staging of On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales and you see the problem: characters wandering through theme park facades instead of epic landscapes.
So yes, Bloom is right that the heart wants the band back together. But if Disney wants lightning in a bottle again, it isn’t Depp’s eyeliner or Knightley’s resolve that will save them. It’s Verbinski’s madness. Without it, Pirates 6 is just another reboot trying to ride dead wind.
What You Should Know Before Pirates 6 Sets Sail
Orlando Bloom Speaks at Fan Expo 2025
Bloom confirmed he’d return if the script was strong and the core cast reunited, per Entertainment Weekly.
The Robbie Spin-Off Stalled
Announced in 2020, canceled in 2022, and still “alive” in Jerry Bruckheimer’s 2024 words — but currently nowhere.
Verbinski Remains Absent
The director of the first three films has not been linked to Disney’s current plans, despite being the creative force behind their best moments.
Davy Jones Cameo Unused
The 2017 post-credits tease never materialized into story payoff, leaving fans skeptical of dangling threads.
Franchise Fatigue Is Real
The later films proved that star power alone isn’t enough — the spirit of the originals came from vision, not repetition.
