Gore Verbinski’s “Gleeful” Sci-Fi Hit Is Officially Taking Over Streaming

Who would have believed in the mid-2000s that the central creative forces behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movies — director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp — would both be struggling professionally two decades later? The original three films in the swashbuckling fantasy franchise were major hits, grossing over $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office and capturing the imagination of an entire generation. Two further sequels followed, but Verbinski chose to sit them out. Instead, he worked with Depp on the Academy Award-winning animated movie Rango, and then on the mega-budget Western The Lone Ranger. The latter movie altered the course of their careers irrevocably.