Was this supposed to even be a Free Willy movie?

My theory is that this film was originally meant to be a star vehicle for Bindi Irwin, owing to the success of her TV show. But then Warner executives felt the movie wouldn't be popular unless it was attached to a known franchise, so they change the whale's name to Willy and put the movie under the Free Willy gauntlet.
Seriously, I think this movie was originally just going to be called Escape from Pirate's Cove, starring Bindi Irwin and her friend, a killer whale.

No Jesse, no Randolph, no mention of any of the events of the first three films. And Willy isn't even "Willy." I wish studios would stop meddling in films, because execs know NOTHING about filmmaking.