Pirates of the Caribbean is the 12th highest money-making franchises of all time.
Inspired by a Disney ride, the movie went on to become a pop culture phenomenon.
Integral in its success was Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, the rum-soaked, quick-witted, unkillable pirate.
But it has been 15 years since Curse of the Black Pearl was released, and the franchise has suffered since.
Will Johnny Depp return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot?
According to the original Pirates screenwriter Stuart Beattie, Depp will not reprise his role.
Speaking to DailyMailTV, Beattie said Depp was “finished as the lead of these movies.”
He added: “I think he’s had a great run.
“Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the thing that he’s most famous for now.
“And kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it’s been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it.”
Depp has played Captain Jack in the five films over 14 years.
The series has accumulated box office takings of over £3.5 billion ($4.5 bn).
Though Beattie is not involved in the reboot, his comments are being taken seriously.
The reboot itself is likely to take a wholly different tone to the mostly family-friendly original.
According to Deadline, Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are looking at Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to pen the upcoming screenplay.
Beattie took an optimistic view of Depp’s exclusion from the reboot.
He said: “There’s that saying, ‘Don’t frown because it’s over, smile because it happened.’
“The fact that they’re rebooting something that you did means that you did something that was worth rebooting.
“It’s an honour.”
Depp has not released any comments regarding the reboot.
The actor is set to appear in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald as the eponymous baddie Wizard.
He also has a starring role in City of Lies, a biographical crime film directed by Brad Furman.
Depp plays a former LAPD detective, Russell Poole who worked the murder cases of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G in 1997.
The movie is based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan, published in 2002.