Summary
- Disappointing news for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as the promising PotC 6 film is set to be a reboot, not a direct sequel.
- The potential return of characters like Will and Elizabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would have allowed the franchise to move on from Jack Sparrow.
- The reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may mean the end of the promising story teases from the ending of Dead Men Tell No Tales, such as Davy Jones' return.
Updates about Pirates of the Caribbean 6 have been scarce for a while due to the unsure nature of Johnny Depp's return and the less-than-promising critical and commercial return of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. With Disney failing to explicitly confirm whether a sequel to the fifth film would happen, growing rumors of a reboot of the franchise have gained credence.
Pirates Of The Caribbean 6's Cast Update Is Disappointing After 7 Years Of Rumors, But It Makes Sense
Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s latest cast update is disappointing after seven years of rumors, but it’s probably the right choice for the franchise.
While the plan of a chronological order of Pirates of the Caribbean movies will seemingly be forsaken in favor of a complete reboot, which also wastes the story potential of a sequel to Dead Men Tell No Tales. Despite the fifth Pirates movie not being overly brilliant, its ending was fantastic and teased a compelling continuation for the first time since At World's End, something a reboot negates completely.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- Release Date
- May 26, 2017
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- Director
- Joachim Rønning
WHERE TO WATCH
The fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales follows young Henry Turner as he enlists Captain Jack Sparrow to release his father, Will Turner, from the curse binding him to the Flying Dutchman. Their quest puts them in the path of ghostly pirate-hunter Captain Salazar, with whom Sparrow has a storied past. To save his old friend, Sparrow must confront his own past to reunite Will with his long-lost son.
- Writers
- Joachim Rønning, Johnny Depp
Dead Men Tell No Tales' Post-Credits Set Up A Will & Elizabeth Focused Story For POTC 6
The original trio of the Pirates movies were teased for a reunion in PotC 6.
The ending of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales saw Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley return as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann respectively. The film's story centered around Brenton Thwaites' Henry Turner trying to find the Trident of Poseidon in an effort to break all curses of the seas. In doing so, Will Turner was freed of the curse placed on him by becoming captain of the Flying Dutchman, allowing him to return to land and live once more with his wife, Elizabeth.
This tease was made even more solid when the post-credit scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales centered once more on Will and Elizabeth rather than Jack Sparrow...
The ending of Dead Men Tell No Tales showed this curse being broken and saw Will Turner return to Elizabeth. This ending scene was certainly interesting, as it teased a Pirates of the Caribbean 6 focused on Will and Elizabeth. This tease was made even more solid when the post-credit scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales centered once more on Will and Elizabeth rather than Jack Sparrow, implying that a sixth film would focus on the former two or at least the entire original trio for the first time since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Dead Men Tell No Tales Teased Davy Jones Would Be The Villain Of Pirates Of The Caribbean 6
Bill Nighy's villainous Davy Jones was teased for a return in Pirates 6.
While the ending of Dead Men Tell No Tales teasing Will and Elizabeth's return was exciting in its own right, the film also hinted at the return of Davy Jones. In the post-credit scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales, Will and Elizabeth are shown sleeping in their bed after being reunited. However, Will's sleep is interrupted by Davy Jones, who is shown standing over the duo. As Davy Jones is about to strike Will and Elizabeth, Will awakens with a start and assumes he had a nightmare.
As Will settles back down to sleep, the camera pans to the floor and shows a puddle of water and barnacles by his and Elizabeth's bed. This implied that Davy Jones was actually back and in Will's room, but somehow managed to escape. More so than this, it hinted that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would reignite the feud between Will, Elizabeth, Jack Sparrow, and Davy Jones. With the Trident of Poseidon breaking all curses of the sea, it makes sense for Davy Jones to have returned.
The heart of Davy Jones from the second and third films was technically a curse, meaning the Trident of Poseidon brought him back to life.
Will & Elizabeth Leading Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Would've Helped The Franchise Move On From Jack Sparrow
The potential premise of PotC 6 would have allowed the franchise to fix the issues of the fourth and fifth entries.
Perhaps the biggest issue with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise since the third movie is that too much of a focus has been placed on Jack Sparrow. While Jack is an iconic character and will forever remain so, it was always the case that he worked better as part of a larger ensemble. With Will and Elizabeth absent from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, more emphasis was placed on Johnny Depp's character, highlighting some of his flaws.
This would have allowed the latter character [Jack Sparrow] to be utilized much better than in the prior two movies...
The teases of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 seemed to imply that Will and Elizabeth would return to be the leads of the film, alongside Jack Sparrow. This would have allowed the latter character to be utilized much better than in the prior two movies, while potentially helping the franchise move past the need for the character completely. If Pirates of the Caribbean 6 had brought back the original trio for one final film, Jack Sparrow's character could have been retired or killed in a satisfying culmination that allowed the franchise to move on to spin-offs, reboots, and other characters.
Characters Who Appear In All 5 Pirates Movies |
Actor |
|---|---|
Captain Jack Sparrow |
Johnny Depp |
Captain Hector Barbossa |
Geoffrey Rush |
Joshamee Gibbs |
Kevin McNally |
Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Being A Reboot Means This Movie Will Never Happen
The likelihood of the promising PotC 6 film happening has been significantly reduced.
Despite all of these reasons being presented as evidence for why Pirates of the Caribbean 6 should have happened, the most recent update from franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer has removed this possibility. Bruckheimer confirmed that the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be a reboot of the franchise, moving away from the characters and stories established in the first five films. This comes after years of rumors that Margot Robbie would star in a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.
While it is unclear if the reboot in question will star Robbie or not, it was at least confirmed that it will likely not star the original cast of Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, or Johnny Depp. Bruckheimer told ComicBook.com that a reboot of the franchise would be easier as "you don't have to wait for certain actors." This seems to imply that the core trio of the Gore Verbinski movies will not reprise their roles in the reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean 6, essentially ending the promising story that was teased in Dead Men Tell No Tales.
With the story of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 all but dead in the water, questions will be raised over how the reboot will sur the promising teases of the former. The idea of Davy Jones returning for revenge against Will, Elizabeth, and Jack Sparrow is endlessly intriguing, driven primarily by the disappointing installments of On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales. Regardless of how promising this premise - and the return to classic Pirates - was, it will unfortunately not happen, turning all eyes to updates of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 replacement.
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