Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise has been dormant since 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, but the series remains important to the company and it sounds like another entry in the series may be in the works.

　　Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, told The New York Times that the company believes it has a "really good, exciting story" for a new Pirates movie that "honors the films that have come before" and also has "something new to say."

　　The series, which is based on a Disney theme park ride, debuted in 2003 and spawned four sequels, which together brought in billions. The series stars controversial actor Johnny Depp, who plays Captain Jack Sparrow. Could he come back for the next movie? "Noncommittal at this point," Bailey said, leaving a fair degree of ambiguity.

　　Depp was dumped from the Harry Potter series Fantastic Beasts amid his high-profile lawsuit with Amber Heard and has not starred in a studio tentpole since.

　　The Pirates series has featured a number of big-name actors over the years, including Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Bill Nighy, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Naomie Harris, and Kaya Scodelario.

　　Margot Robbie was working on a female-led Pirates movie, but Disney apparently elected to pass on it. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us) is said to be writing a Pirates movie. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the Pirates movies over the years, has said this project remains in development and could be the one that Bailey is referring to.

　　Also in the interview, Bailey said Disney is making moves to expand The Lion King into a "big, epic saga" similar to Star Wars. He said The Lion King has a lot of potential if Disney can "find the stories." The next entry in the series is Mufasa: The Lion King, which is set for release in 2024.