Margot Robbie cast in first ever female-fronted Pirates of the Caribbean film

Although no plot details have been made available at this stage, it is reported that the film will be unrelated to the previous Pirates films, with an original story and entirely new cast and characters.

The project is still in the very early stages of its development and so it will likely be a long time before it is ready for release - especially bearing in mind the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which continues to affect global film production.

The five films which have already been released in the franchise -which started with 2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl - have made more than £3.6 billion at the global box office, making it one of the most lucrative film series of all time.

However the most recent entry - 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales - suffered the second lowest box office returns of the franchise's history, and so Disney has been keen to find ways to inject new life into the series.

As well as previously working with Robbie on Birds of Prey, Hodson has wealth of experience as a writer of blockbusters, with other credits including the Transformers spin-off Bumblebee, while Robbie is one of Hollywood's most accomplished stars - with recent appearances including Bombshell and Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood.