WIRE Buzz: Pirates of the Caribbean goes nuclear; Marvel expands X-Men line; more

The creator of HBO's Chernobyl has boarded the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.

Craig Mazin, who created the acclaimed miniseries that depicts 1986's real-life meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, has joined longtime Pirates writer Ted Elliott to write a fresh take on the cinematic seafaring adventure. Disney has been eyeing to reboot the franchise for some time, with Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick attached to write until earlier this year.

While Chernobyl established Mazin as a dramatic powerhouse, he's no stranger to fun reboots, having penned the upcoming Charlie's Angels. As far as franchises go, he's also credited for two Scary Movie sequels, as well as The Hangover III. He's also attached to write the upcoming Chris Pratt vehicle Cowboy Ninja Viking.

The new film POTC will be an all-new adventure to rekindle the franchise, reportedly ignoring the five blockbuster films that starred Johnny Depp as the swashbuckling pirate Captain Jack Sparrow.

(via The Hollywood Reporter) 

Next up, Marvel Comics is amping up its X-Men content. 

After the successful relaunch of House of X/Powers of X, Marvel currently has seven separate X-Men titles in production, and that's growing by two: X-Men/Fantastic Four and Giant-Size X-Men. The latter will be a series of special issues focusing on individual team members or small groups of the X-family. Jonathan Hickman will write the series, with a different team of artists every issue.

The first issue, with artist Russell Dauterman and colorist Matt Wilson, features Jean Grey and Emma Frost ...

On the other hand, X-Men/Fantastic Four will be a four-issue miniseries that centers on Franklin Richards, the son of the Fantastic Four's Sue and Reed. While Franklin weighs the decision to move to the mutant nation of Krakoa, it will also re-introduce mutants — now the dominant species on Earth — to the larger Marvel Universe. Chip Zdarsky will write the miniseries, with art from Terry and Rachel Dodson.

Both titles are expected to launch in early 2020.

(via The Hollywood Reporter) 

Finally, it seems we'll never be able to "Let It Go."

The song, which appeared in 2013's animated feature Frozen, became a popular earworm almost immediately. Now, six years later, Friday's installment of The View featured an all-new rendition of the tune by a half-dozen Broadway veterans, each with a history of Disney's stage shows. 

The performers included Caissie Levy and Patti Murin (Elsa and Anna from Frozen, respectively), along with Susan Egan (Belle from Beauty and the Beast), Heather Headey (Nala from The Lion King), Ashley Brown (Mary from Mary Poppins), and Merle Dandridge (Kala from Tarzan). 

You can check out the performance for yourself here: 

As part of a celebration of Disney's 25th anniversary on Broadway, the sextet also did a medley of other signature Disney numbers, including "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and "Beauty and the Beast."

A sequel to the film, Frozen II, will storm into theaters on Nov. 22.

(via The View, Entertainment Weekly)