Related: Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool Top Perfectly Cast Twitter Poll A three-way sword fight that extends across the island on a spinning wheel, a massive sea battle with a mythological creature of the deep this is something you can only get with a franchise that is willing to go this bonkers and be confident enough that audiences will go for it. While the script is a little lopsided, a side effect of needing to be a middle chapter that sets up the third movie, the film uses that to its advantage to not only deepen the world and mythology but provide some of the biggest and most breathtaking spectacles audiences could imagine in 2006, which even now still feel impressive.Įvery action scene is top-tier, and the filmmakers have taken everything from the first film and cranked it up to 11. The main three heroes intersect at various points in the story as new revelations are revealed about the characters' backstories, desires, and hidden agendas that will put them to the test.Įverything about Dead Man's Chest plays like the filmmakers have received a blank check, knowing the first film was successful and that they could go all out with this sequel.
Meanwhile, Jack discovers that his debt to Davy Jones is up, and he needs to find a way to save himself. The film sees Will and Elizabeth's wedding interrupted by Cutler Becket, who wants Will to retrieve Jack Sparrow's compass for him.
Combine that with many at the studio not being comfortable with Depp's performance as Jack Sparrow, and many thought that the movie would be a bomb. That, and the incredible score led by Hans Zimmer, one of the best film scores of the 2000s.Īll through development, Disney was worried that the movie was going to be a massive bomb, as pirate films had not been a major draw in years and the combined box-office disasters of fellow theme park film The Country Bears and the pirate-themed film Treasure Planet gave Disney cold feet.
In many ways, it locked down a formula that Guardians of the Galaxy would perfect: take a self-serious genre and infuse it with a character who can alter the tone and mood of the piece. Director Gore Verbinski had a history in rock n roll music, having performed in many bands in his early career before becoming a filmmaker, and that sensibility bleeds through into the film (and Depp's performance, often compared to Keith Richards of The Rolling Sontes), offering new riffs on a classic genre. Jack Sparrow is not your traditional pirate or leading man hero. Nonetheless, the five Pirates films can still be enjoyed in the meantime, so take a look at the movies listed in order of release date and chronologically, as they are completely the same. Yet, Disney already has so many projects in development, and unlike in the 2000s, they aren't so reliant on the franchise, so it may take some time until a new Pirates of the Caribbean film hits theaters.
That may have attributed to the franchise's initial success, and even with two later sequels that may have disappointed critics and audiences alike, the franchise still stays a beloved part of the cultural conversation.ĭisney has plans for another Pirates of the Caribbean film with Margot Robbie in the lead role, and it appears Johnny Depp will not return in the new movie. There was a young ideal hero who had a father with an unknown backstory (Will Turner/Luke Skywalker), who teams up with a rogue scoundrel (Jack Sparrow/Han Solo) to rescue a damsel who isn't quite in distress and can take care of herself (Elizabeth Swan/Princess Leia).īoth franchises had second films that end on a major cliffhanger where the heroes have to go rescue the rogue character, with the third film having an opening act dedicated to rescuing said rogue and the latter half having an epic showdown with the series' villains.
This is odd, given that there were Star Wars films coming out at the time, but the Pirates of the Caribbean series tapped into the key archetypes of the original trilogy. The franchise was at its height from 2003 to 2007, and for many could be seen as the Star Wars for a new generation. Disney tried to chase the success of Pirates of the Caribbean for years, with failed franchise starters like The Lone Ranger, John Carter, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time all going for a similar vibe but failing to capture the magic and mostly becoming Disney box-office bombs. After years of attempting to launch their own action series, Pirates of the Caribbean finally gave the studio something that could appeal to families but have a slight edge to it, as the original film was the first movie with the Disney logo to have a PG-13 rating. Before the MCU and Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean was Disney's crown jewel franchise.