Gender-switching trend continues in Hollywood with more female-led movies and TV shows

Walt Disney Co. reportedly is planning to reboot its “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise with a female lead character.
Disney is ready to part ways with Johnny Depp, whose Jack Sparrow character has led the franchise over the last five films, according to news reports.
The new movie would center on a female pirate named Redd, who is featured in the Disneyland attraction and as a meet-and-greet park character.
If it comes to fruition, it would be the latest in the gender-flipping trend that kicked off with movies like “Ghostbusters” (2016) and “Ocean’s Eight” (2018).
What follows are some other gender-swapped movies and TV shows in the works with female leads.

• “What Men Want” starring Taraji P. Henson is a remake of “What Women Want” (2000), which starred Mel Gibson. The new movie follows a woman who, after getting passed over for a promotion at her work, gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. “What Men Want” is scheduled for release on Feb. 8.
• Actress Daisy Ridley stars in “Ophelia,” a reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” told from Ophelia’s perspective. The movie is scheduled to open Jan. 22.
• “The Hustle,” a gender-flipped remake of the 1988 comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” is set for release on May 10. It stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.
• “L.A.’s Finest” is a spinoff of the “Bad Boys” film franchise with female leads. The TV series, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, is scheduled to premiere next year on Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable service.
• Disney has cast actress Zoe Kravitz to star in a series adaptation of “High Fidelity,” a 2000 movie that starred John Cusack. The series is for Disney’s upcoming streaming video service, Variety said.
• NBC is developing a spinoff of its supernatural series “Grimm” that would center on a female Grimm, Deadline reported.
• Annie Clark, also known as musician St. Vincent, is directing a gender-bending adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for Lionsgate, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde is in the public domain.
• The CW is developing a series called “Dorian,” a comedic adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” with a gender switch. It would star Marisa Coughlan, according to Deadline.
• A movie based on the Broadway musical “Cats” is in the works. Actress Judi Dench has been cast to play Deuteronomy, a role traditionally played by a man, the Guardian reported.
• Sony is working on a sequel to its upcoming animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which would focus on female characters in the Spider-Man universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

Related article:

Gender-swapped roles in movies and TV shows: an update (July 6, 2018)

Photos: Brassy buccaneer Redd at Disneyland park (Disney); and movie poster for “What Men Want.”