"Yet another go woke, go broke film": Ayo Edebiri replacing Johnny Depp as Irish pirate Anne Bonny in ‘Pirates 6’ claim sparks mass backlash  

According to recent social media claims, actress, comedian, and TV writer Ayo Edebiri will allegedly be replacing Johnny Depp as the protagonist of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6. The move is reportedly driven by Disney wanting to make a female-led Pirates of the Caribbean movie, as mentioned by CBR.

Insider Daniel Richtman even confirmed that the upcoming Pirates sequel will have a woman protagonist, as per the news outlet, and Ayo Edebiri’s name has been tossed around for the same.

It has also been reported that The Bear star will be playing the role of real-life Irish pirate Anne Bonny, who was a white woman, unlike Edebiri, who is black, and has her roots in Barbados and Nigeria.

In the wake of the rumors, Disney is now facing severe online backlash for its casting choices. An X user with the handle @bbuckley88 commented under @unlimited_ls’ tweet, pointing out that casting a non-Irish woman to play the role of Anne Bonny is a “woke” move by the studio.

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Disney faces mass outrage for reportedly casting Ayo Edebiri in the role of an Irish pirate

The sixth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was announced in 2011. However, it has been postponed several times, especially after Johnny Depp’s exit as the male lead in 2020, in the wake of his legal battles with former wife Amber Heard over the last few years, as per CBR.

The media source continued by stating that in 2018, Disney tried to make the sequel with the help of Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, but that did not work out.

Later, in 2020, Barbie star Margot Robbie’s name was also tossed around to lead the Pirates spin-off (script to be written by Christina Hodson, as per Comic Book Movie) but to no avail, as reported by Variety.

Finally, in 2022, one of the Pirates of the Caribbean producers Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that “two Pirates scripts” were under development, one with Margot Robbie, and one without. However, Robbie told Vanity Fair that it may not work out after all.

The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin confirmed the second Pirates movie in September 2023. He stated that while they were unsure if Disney would approve the project, Ted Elliot crafted a fantastic script that was quickly accepted by the studio. However, the production got delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

As per the Comic Book Movie, originally, Karen Gillan was supposed to star in the role of male pirate Redd on the famous Disneyland ride. However, that did not work out either.

At present, speculation is rife that Disney’s second Pirates of the Caribbean reboot will also be female-centric and based on the life of a real-life pirate, Irishwoman Anne Bonny and Golden Globes winner Ayo Edebiri will reportedly be playing the character.

However, Ayo Edebiri is a Black woman unlike Anne Bonny who was White, which is now sparking mass outrage online, for presumed wrong casting.

Here are some of the reactions from X:

According to CBR, the upcoming Pirates sequels will be based on young pirates looking for a hidden treasure, and there’s significant doubt whether the original cast of Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and Tom Hollander among others will continue.

Meanwhile, Primetime Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri is known for his award-winning performance as chef Sydney Adamu in the Hulu/ FX show The Bear but has also appeared in comedy dramas including Theater Camp and Bottoms. She was also the voice artist for films such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.