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Disney Quietly Releases a Pirates of the Caribbean Wannabe: It's Annoyingly Mid

Disney Quietly Releases a Pirates of the Caribbean Wannabe: It's Annoyingly Mid
Image credit: Disney+, Legion-Media, Channel 4

Why do even the original stories feel like a remake at this point?

Summary:

  • Pirates of the Caribbean remains one of Disney 's most iconic franchises
  • A new historical adventure series from Disney Plus looks like it tries to copy its vibe
  • TV fans are already divided over the show, which premieres March 29 on Disney Plus

Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean, but with no pirates, no ships, and in fact, it's more of a badass girl-powered Robin Hood kind of thing. Yes, that's exactly what Disney+ went for with its new series.

Basically, if you're really craving at least something like Johnny Depp 's epic adventure, then Renegade Nell — that's the name of the series — could work for you.

Although it's not officially compared to Pirates of the Caribbean, the trailer makes us think that the creators of the new British historical series were clearly inspired by the extravagant pirate captain.

The story revolves around Nelly Jackson, a savvy (sorry, it just fits!) girl who finds herself framed for murder and thus becomes a highwaywoman — and not just some highwaywoman, but one of the most feared in England. She is also pretty badass, hilarious, and won't stop joking around while effortlessly escaping danger.

Fans think that the show looks a lot like "Robin Hood, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and a BBC series all rolled into one," while others joke that the trailer looks like what Google's AI, Gemini, could offer when asked for a trailer for an 18th century Highwayman action adventure TV show.

Some fans were upset with the now tired move of sampling a classical piece of music and turning it into an epic movie trailer OST; Renegade Nell chose Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns.

However, there are also people who are pretty excited for the series. After all, we have what can be called a period drama with a sprinkle of action and humor, spearheaded by a charismatic female lead.

The role of Nelly (actually, don't call her that; it's almost like a certain character who also had a problem with the way people referred to him...) is portrayed by Louisa Harland. And yes, you do know her as Orla from Derry Girls.

Disney Quietly Releases a Pirates of the Caribbean Wannabe: It's Annoyingly Mid - image 1

Many people are excited for the show, and if you're not tired of parallels, then it also could be a worthy companion for Apple TV 's The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.

Renegade Nell premieres on Disney Plus on March 29, with all 8 episodes to be available for a binge.