Academy Award nominee Margot Robbie has revealed that plans for her to lead a Pirates of the Caribbean outing have been scrapped. The proposed project, which would have found Robbie taking over from Johnny Depp as the lead of the franchise, is now dead in the water at Disney.

“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.”

Speaking about her upcoming projects with Vanity Fair, Robbie revealed that, while she felt that they had a good idea for how to once again set sail and continue the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the movie is no longer happening. The actress even stated that the project was first being discussed “ages ago.”

The last audiences saw of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was back in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is led by Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. At the time, the plan was to quickly shoot a sixth installment, with the intention to wrap up the series and the journey of Jack Sparrow which began all those years ago in 2003. Of course, due to ongoing controversies surrounding Depp, this idea too was scrapped by the studio.

Details of the Pirates of the Caribbean fronted by Margot Robbie are largely unknown, but previous reports have claimed that the project would have been separate to the continuing adventures of Jack Sparrow. Robbie’s Pirates outing was set to be written by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson.

Word of Margot Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie being canceled, and recent developments surrounding Johnny Depp, will no doubt have fans hoping for the return of Jack Sparrow. Unfortunately, we have some bad news...

Related: Pirates of the Caribbean: Does the Franchise Really Need Johnny Depp?

Johnny Depp Has Said He Will Never Return to the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise

Pirates of the Caribbean_ The Curse of the Black Pearl- Jack Sparrow
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

During the televised, headline-dominating trial between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor stated that he would never return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Depp even went on to declare that there is nothing that Disney could do to tempt him to reprise the role of Jack Sparrow in a potential sixth installment. "The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?" Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn asked Depp during the proceedings.

"That is true, Mr. Rottenborn," Depp replied. “I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not."

There have since been rumors regarding Depp’s return, with reports claiming that Disney is aiming to patch things up with the actor. However, these have been debunked by representatives for Johnny Depp, who have simply stated, “This is made up.”

Margot Robbie is plenty busy without the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with the actress set to star in both Babylon and Barbie. Johnny Depp meanwhile will next return to screens as King Louis XV in the upcoming French biographical movie, La Favorite.