George Maguire Becomes Disney’s New Jack Sparrow, and the London Pirates Show Is Already Expanding

Captain Jack Sparrow is getting a new official face, but not in a new movie. Disney has cast Olivier Award winner George Maguire as Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure, a London stage event that has already added dates after strong ticket demand.

Disney’s first major Jack Sparrow recast is for an immersive London production

Maguire will lead Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure, a live production created with Secret Cinema and TodayTix in London. The casting is notable because Disney is presenting another actor in a major narrative project as Captain Jack Sparrow, a role Johnny Depp originated in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and continued across four sequels. Depp’s first performance as Jack also earned an Academy Award nomination.

Maguire comes to the part with a strong West End résumé. He won a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance as Dave Davies in Sunny Afternoon, and he also appeared as Buck Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde. The wider cast includes Phil Daniels as Captain Hector Barbossa, Lily Blunsom as Elizabeth Swann, Harrison Wilde as Will Turner, and Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Anamaria. Daniels is known for Quadrophenia, EastEnders, and the spoken-word part on Blur’s “Parklife.” The production is directed by Olivier Award winner Matt Costain, whose background includes circus arts, physical theater, and large-scale spectacle.

What changes for fans, and when it starts

This is not being staged as a conventional seated musical. The production is designed as an interactive experience running about two hours and 15 minutes, using selected clips from The Curse of the Black Pearl alongside large physical sets and live performers. Audience members will move through spaces inspired by Port Royal, pirate taverns, Tortuga, and the decks of the Black Pearl, with stunt sequences taking place close to guests.

The show will be mounted at Secret Cinema’s purpose-built venue on London’s Greenwich Peninsula. Previews are set to begin on February 16, 2027, followed by an official gala opening on March 10, 2027. The initial booking plan was a 10-week engagement, but demand led producers to add six more weeks, extending the run to 16 weeks and through June 6, 2027.

For Pirates fans, the immediate change is clear: Disney is testing Captain Jack Sparrow in a new medium, with a new performer, and with a longer booking window than first announced.