Margot Robbie fronting female-led Pirates of the Caribbean

Margot Robbie has signed up to lead a new female-focused version of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The Australian actress will reteam with Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson for the Disney project, which is in the early stages of development with franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

While plot details are currently under wraps, it is known that the movie is not a spin-off of the huge long-running franchise that featured Johnny Depp's troublesome pirate Jack Sparrow, and is entirely separate from the previously-announced series reboot, currently being written by Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin.

Instead, it is a new female-centric original story with characters inspired by the long-running attraction at Disneyland in California, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

To date, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has spawned five blockbuster movies, grossing more than $4.5 billion (£3.6 billion) worldwide.

It began with 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which also starred Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, while the most recent instalment, Dead Men Tell No Tales, which featured Javier Bardem as the villainous Captain Salazar, hit theatres in 2017.

In addition to teaming up for their new Pirates of the Caribbean blockbuster, two-time Oscar nominee Margot and Christina launched the Lucky Exports Pitch Program last year, a new initiative aimed at getting more female writers hired by studios to write action movies.