Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)

Pirates of the Caribbean is an American fantasy supernatural swashbuckler film series produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film series serves as a major component of the titular media franchise. Based on a fictionalized version of the Golden Age of Piracy (which is c. 1650–1726), the films' plots are set primarily in the Caribbean.

Directors of the series include Gore Verbinski (films 1–3), Rob Marshall (4), Joachim Rønning (5), and Espen Sandberg (5). The series is primarily written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (1–4); other writers include Stuart Beattie (1), Jay Wolpert (1) and Jeff Nathanson (5).

The stories follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), with Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally) over the course of the films. Other characters featured in the original trilogy include Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), James Norrington (Jack Davenport), Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), Pintel and Ragetti (Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook), Marty (Martin Klebba), Cotton (David Bailie), Murtogg and Mullroy (Giles New and Angus Barnett), Lieutenant Gillette (Damian O'Hare), Theodore Groves (Greg Ellis), Bootstrap Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgård), Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), and Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Despite focusing more on Jack Sparrow among several of the aforementioned characters, the fourth and fifth films serve as standalone sequels. The fourth film features Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Philip Swift (Sam Claflin), Syrena (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey), and Scrum (Stephen Graham). The fifth film features Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario).

The film series started in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which had a positive reception from audiences and film critics. It grossed $654 million worldwide. After the first film's success, Walt Disney Pictures announced that a film series was in the works. The franchise's second film, subtitled Dead Man's Chest, was released in 2006 and broke financial records worldwide the day of its premiere. Dead Man's Chest became the top-grossing movie of 2006 with almost $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office. The third film in the series, subtitled At World's End, followed in 2007 earning $960 million. Disney released a fourth film, subtitled On Stranger Tides, in 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. On Stranger Tides succeeded in also grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the second film in the franchise and only the eighth film in history to do this, at the time of release. A fifth film, subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2017.

The franchise has grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. It is the 16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, and is the first film franchise to produce two or more movies that grossed over $1 billion.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow to save Turner's love, Elizabeth Swann, from cursed pirates led by Jack's mutinous former first mate, Hector Barbossa. Jack wants revenge against Barbossa, who left him stranded on an island before stealing his ship, the Black Pearl, along with 882 pieces of cursed Aztec Gold.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company arrests Will and Elizabeth for aiding Captain Jack Sparrow in the previous film. Beckett offers clemency if Will agrees to search for Jack's compass in a bid to find the Dead Man's Chest—and inside, the heart of villainous Davy Jones—which would give Beckett control of the seas. However, Jack wants the Chest to escape from an unpaid debt with Jones, who made Jack captain of the Black Pearl for 13 years in exchange for 100 years of service aboard Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman. Jack's debt is complicated by both Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who follow him out to sea.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Lord Beckett gains power over Davy Jones and, with the help of the Flying Dutchman, he is now executing his plans to extinguish piracy forever. To stand against the East India Trading Co., Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and the crew of the Black Pearl set out to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker. As one of the Nine Pirate Lords, Jack is needed in order to release an ancient goddess with the power to defeat Beckett's forces.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Captain Jack Sparrow is on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth and crosses paths with a former lover, Angelica. She forces Jack aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship captained by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, Angelica's father. Both are also in search of the Fountain: Angelica to save her father's soul, Blackbeard to escape a prophecy of his demise at the hands of a one-legged man. Joining the hunt is former pirate captain Barbossa, now a privateer in King George II's Navy, who is in a race against the Spanish for the Fountain of Youth.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
A group of ghostly Spanish Royal Navy soldiers led by Jack Sparrow's old nemesis, Captain Armando Salazar, escape from the Devil's Triangle, with the goal of killing every pirate at sea, including Sparrow. To survive, Sparrow seeks out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact whose owner can control the seas and break curses. The film was released in many countries as Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge.

Untitled sixth film (TBA)
Shortly before the release of On Stranger Tides, it was reported that Disney was planning to shoot the fifth and the sixth films back-to-back, although ultimately only the fifth installment was developed. By March 2017, director Joachim Rønning stated that Dead Men Tell No Tales was only the beginning of the final adventure, confirming that it would not be the last film of the series. That September, producer Jerry Bruckheimer indicated that another Pirates of the Caribbean was still in development.

In October of the same year, Kaya Scodelario stated that she was contractually signed to return for a sixth film. It was confirmed that Rønning would direct the film. In October 2019, Disney announced that Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott would write Pirates of the Caribbean 6. In May 2020, Bruckheimer commented that the first draft of the screenplay for the sixth film would soon be finished. On April 20, 2022, during his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp stated he had no intention of returning to the franchise, citing his strained relationship with Disney after they had removed him from the franchise before a verdict was reached in the case.

In February 2023, Orlando Bloom had expressed interest in returning to the franchise. In March, Keira Knightley explained to Entertainment Tonight why she would not make a return to the Disney franchise. "What about Elizabeth Swann?", Knightley joked when asked if she would re-join the crew, also commenting that her character sailed away "in brilliant style". Bruckheimer was also still interested in potentially bringing back Depp to the saga. In June, Depp was reportedly open to returning to the series if the project proves worthwhile.

In August 2023, Craig Mazin stated that he'd pitched a Pirates script to Disney, but that he would only commit to it if he was able to work with Ted Elliot; Mazin confirmed that his and Elliot's script was bought by Disney, also commenting that it was "too weird", but the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike had slowed production of the sixth installment.

In March 2024, Jerry Bruckheimer stated that the sixth film would be a reboot. Despite this, two months later, Bruckheimer hoped to see Johnny Depp return.

On May 20, 2024, Bruckheimer provided further clarification on the series's status. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he confirmed that there were two different Pirates movies in production. The first is a reboot that he intends to produce with scriptwriter Jeff Nathanson, and the second is the Margot Robbie film that will be penned by Christina Hodson. He stated that he hoped both films would be made, and noted that Disney was particularly receptive to the Robbie-led film. In regards to the reboot, he confirmed that it would not follow characters from the previous films, but stated that he hoped Depp would make an appearance.

Spin-off films
A female-led spin-off was announced in June 2020, starring Margot Robbie with Christina Hodson writing the screenplay. The film is separate from the sixth film also being developed. Bruckheimer was attached as producer. In November 2022, Robbie said the project was not going forward. Bruckheimer then shared the following month that the project wasn't officially dead and that a sequel merely took priority. He then later reiterated that it will still be made and has a "very strong story" but also needs "a little more work".

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jerry Bruckheimer stated that another spin-off "with a younger cast" is in the works alongside the Margot Robbie spin-off.

In February 2024, it was rumored that Disney was considering Ayo Edebiri to "follow in Depp's footsteps" for the leading role, a character named "Anne" likely inspired by the real-life pirate Anne Bonny, in a tentatively titled Pirates 6, a female-fronted movie that centers on a younger cast of pirates searching for hidden treasure. In response to the debunked rumors that Ayo Edebiri would replace Johnny Depp as the new lead, Daniel Richtman commented, "It's not true, there's no 'Replacing Depp' or anything like that. She's only the 'Type' they’re looking at for the lead in one of the planned spinoffs (not the Margot Robbie one)." However, none of that has been officially confirmed by Disney.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked is a live-action short directed by James Ward Byrkit. There were many proposed titles, including Wedding Belles and Pirate Belles. Although it was only included as a special feature in the US 15-disc 3D Blu-ray/2D Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy box set that includes the first four films released on October 18, 2011, it was also released in the similar UK five-disc set. Jim Byrkit conceived the idea for a short film while on the Shipwreck Cove set Rick Heinrichs designed for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), a project which interested Brigham Taylor at Disney. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio collaborated with Byrkit on the script, having envisioned something based on the Pirate Code Book as a device that could tie into other stories later. The short film was shot by cinematographer Nic Sadler. As the pirate cove sets from At World's End—where the short film takes place—were set to be demolished, the short project was prepped in a matter of days and shot over three days in late 2006. In 2023, Rossio wrote on Wordplay that Tales of the Code was designed to be a series of a few fun shorts to fill in the Pirates universe and add to the DVD extras section. He also said that, in addition to Wedlocked, there are a few scripts around that were a part of that process.

The short film Wedlocked serves as a prequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, inspired by the auction scene in the Disneyland attraction. Two wenches believe they are both betrothed to Jack Sparrow, but he has secretly traded them to the auctioneer for a fancy hat. They think the auctioneer is raising money for them, when in actuality they are being sold as brides to the highest bidder. Wedlocked had several Pirates veterans reprise their roles, like Vanessa Branch as Giselle, Lauren Maher as Scarlett, and David Bailie reprising his role as Cotton. The 10 minute short also featured John Vickery as the auctioneer and Dale Dickey as Oona the wench, as well as three pirates—Marquis D’avis, Atencio, and Slurry Gibson—who are named after Marc Davis, Xavier Atencio, and Blaine Gibson, the Imagineers who worked on the original attraction.

First film
Back in the early 1990s, Michael Frost Beckner and James Gorman pitched the script that would become Cutthroat Island to Michael Eisner as a potential Pirates of the Caribbean film, buoyed by support from development staff at Disney. Eisner turned it down, due to not wanting to mix the company's film and theme park divisions. Almost a decade later, Walt Disney Pictures had Jay Wolpert write a script based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 2001, which was based on a story created by Disney executives Brigham Taylor, Michael Haynes, and Josh Harmon. Stuart Beattie stated that he talked about making a pirate movie based on the ride while tossing a frisbee with a friend, and wrote a first draft titled "Quest for the Caribbean" while on exchange to Oregon State University in 1991.

Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio notably thought about the pirate genre based on the ride during the early 1990s, having pitched the idea after completing work on the 1992 film Aladdin as a premise to studio executives, but there was no interest from any studio. Undeterred, the writing team refused to give up the dream, waiting for a studio to pick up their take on a pirate tale. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer rejected Wolpert's script, feeling it was "a straight pirate movie". In March 2002, Disney brought Beattie in to rewrite the script, due to his knowledge of piracy. Later that month Elliott and Rossio were brought in, having worked with Disney in Aladdin and the 2002 film Treasure Planet, among other successful films. Elliott and Rossio, inspired by the opening narration of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, decided to give the film a supernatural edge.

In June 2002, Gore Verbinski signed on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean, and Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush signed on the following month to star. Verbinski was attracted to the idea of using modern technology to resurrect a genre, one that had disappeared after the Golden Age of Hollywood, and recalled his childhood memories of the ride, feeling the film was an opportunity to pay tribute to the "scary and funny" tone of it. Depp was attracted to the story as he found it quirky: rather than trying to find treasure, the crew of the Black Pearl were trying to return it in order to lift their curse, with the traditional mutiny having already taken place. Depp based Captain Jack Sparrow on a combination of The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and Looney Tunes cartoons, specifically the characters Bugs Bunny and Pepé Le Pew. Verbinski approached Rush for the role of Captain Barbossa, whom Depp named "Hector" behind the scenes, as he knew he would not play it with attempts at complexity, but with a simple villainy that would suit the story's tone.

Orlando Bloom read the script after Rush, with whom he was working on Ned Kelly, suggested it to him, and was cast as Will Turner. Keira Knightley came as a surprise to Verbinski: he had not seen her performance in Bend It Like Beckham and was impressed by her audition for Elizabeth Swann. Tom Wilkinson was one of several actors negotiated with to play Governor Swann, but the role went to Jonathan Pryce, whom Depp idolized. Further additions include Jack Davenport as James Norrington, Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, Zoe Saldaña as Anamaria, David Bailie as Cotton, Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook as Pintel and Ragetti, Martin Klebba as Marty, David Bailie as Cotton, Giles New and Angus Barnett as Murtogg and Mullroy, Damian O'Hare as Lieutenant Gillette, and Greg Ellis as then-unnamed Theodore Groves.

While Dick Cook had been a strong proponent of adapting Disney's rides into films, the box-office failure of The Country Bears (2002) made Michael Eisner and Robert Iger attempt to shut down production of Pirates of the Caribbean. Although Bruckheimer was Disney's most reliable and successful producer, Eisner second-guessed the early footage, complaining about Depp's character, and as the budget rose, threatened to cancel the film. However, Verbinski told his concept artists to keep working, and Bruckheimer changed the executives' minds when he showed them concept art and animatics. As recalled in the book DisneyWar, Eisner asked "Why does it have to cost so much?". Bruckheimer replied, "Your competition is spending $150 million," referring to franchises like The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix. Eisner concurred, but with the stigma attached to theme-park adaptations, Eisner requested that Verbinski and Bruckheimer remove some of the more overt references to the ride in the script, such as a scene where Sparrow and Turner enter the cave via a waterfall. Another change made was adding The Curse of the Black Pearl as a subtitle, should the film be a hit and lend itself to sequels like Raiders of the Lost Ark, which brought protest due to the Black Pearl being the name of the ship and nothing to do with the pirates' curse. Although Verbinski thought the subtitle was nonsense, Eisner refused to back down, and The Curse of the Black Pearl remained the subtitle, though on most posters and trailers the words were so small as to be barely visible.

Shooting for The Curse of the Black Pearl began on October 9, 2002, and wrapped by March 7, 2003. Before its release, many executives and journalists had expected the film to flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, the film was based on a theme-park ride, and Depp rarely made a big film. However, The Curse of the Black Pearl became both a critical and commercial success.

Second and third films
After seeing how well the first film was made, the cast and crew signed for two sequels to be shot back-to-back, a practical decision on Disney's part to allow more time with the same cast and crew. Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio knew that with an ensemble cast, they weren't free to invent totally different situations and characters, as with the Indiana Jones and James Bond series, and so had to retroactively turn The Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy. They wanted to explore the reality of what would happen after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's embrace at the end of the first film, and initially considered the Fountain of Youth as the plot device. They settled on introducing the Flying Dutchman, the Kraken, and Davy Jones's locker, a mythology mentioned twice in the first film. Also only mentioned in the first film, a fictionalized East India Trading Company was introduced as the primary antagonists, which for them represented a counterpoint to the personal freedom represented by pirates, which was represented by a fictionalized Brethren of the Coast. Each of the cast of characters reprise their roles in the Pirates sequels, respectively, and saw the additions of Tom Hollander as Lord Cutler Beckett, Stellan Skarsgård as Bootstrap Bill Turner, Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma, and Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Further additions include Chow Yun-Fat as Sao Feng and Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow's father, Captain Teague.

On November 2006, near the end of filming the Pirates trilogy, it was reported that Keira Knightley didn't want to participate in any further sequels. Both Knightley and Orlando Bloom had repeatedly been quoted in saying they were done with Pirates, noting that there was closure for Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in At World's End, was quoted in saying they wanted to move on from the franchise. Whereas Johnny Depp was more interested in returning as Captain Jack Sparrow, having been quoted that it was a "break, or a hiatus" as he wrapped his last day on set.

Filming for the sequels began on February 28, 2005, with Dead Man's Chest finishing on March 1, 2006, and At World's End on January 10, 2007. The second film was the first Disney theatrical feature film with the computer-generated Walt Disney Pictures logo.

Fourth film
With the stories of both Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) resolved in At World's End, as well as both actors having declined involvement,  this forced a new approach while retaining some of the franchise favorites, particularly Pirates veterans Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally) from the original trilogy. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio discovered the novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers during production of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, and decided to use it as the basis for a fourth film. As Gore Verbinski was unavailable, Bruckheimer and Depp invited Rob Marshall to direct the film. Elliott and Rossio decided to do a stand-alone film, with a story that would support new characters, and incorporate elements from the novel, such as Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, the Fountain of Youth and mermaids—the latter two having been already alluded to in the previous films.

Depp, Rush, McNally, Keith Richards, Greg Ellis, and Damian O'Hare returned to their roles from previous films in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and the cast saw the additions of Ian McShane as Blackbeard and Penélope Cruz as Angelica, Jack Sparrow's love interest and Blackbeard's daughter. Further additions include Sam Claflin as the missionary Philip Swift, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as the mermaid Syrena, Stephen Graham as Scrum, Richard Griffiths as King George II, and Óscar Jaenada as The Spaniard. After the costly production of two simultaneous films, Disney tried to scale down the fourth installment, giving a lower budget, which led to cheaper locations and fewer scenes with special effects. However, with a budget of $378.5 million, On Stranger Tides is one of the most expensive films ever made.

Filming for On Stranger Tides began on June 14, and ended on November 19, 2010. It was also filmed in 3D, with cameras similar to the ones used in Avatar. It was released in the United States on May 20, 2011.

Fifth film
In January 2011, Terry Rossio was confirmed to write the screenplay for the fifth installment, but without his co-writer Ted Elliott. Rossio's script was ultimately rejected, and the writer stated that a major reason was its use of a female villain, which made actor Johnny Depp "worried that would be redundant to Dark Shadows, which also featured a female villain." Following the film's theatrical release in 2017, Rossio released his unproduced screenplay on his website Wordplay, which includes the proposed story and additional information in extensive footnotes.

In January 2013, Disney hired Jeff Nathanson to write the script for the film. Nathanson's script featured the Trident of Poseidon, loosely based on the Trident of Neptune from Rossio's script. Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg were selected to direct in May 2013. The directing duo confirmed their involvement, and praised Nathanson's "funny and touching" script, also being inspired by the first film of the franchise. The film's title of the fifth film would be Dead Men Tell No Tales, alluding to the line well known from the theme-park attraction. Disney pushed back the originally announced 2015 release date to a Summer 2016 release. Script issues were reportedly behind the delay, as both the studio and filmmakers were reportedly not happy with Nathanson's initial draft, but Bruckheimer revealed Nathanson was at work on a second attempt based on the well-received outline.

Depp, Rush, McNally, Stephen Graham, Martin Klebba, Giles New and Angus Barnett returned to their roles from previous films, and the cast saw the additions of Javier Bardem as the Spanish Navy Captain Armando Salazar, Brenton Thwaites as Henry Turner, and Kaya Scodelario as Carina Smyth. Further additions include Golshifteh Farahani as the sea witch Shansa, David Wenham as Royal Navy Lieutenant John Scarfield, and a cameo role by The Beatles musician Paul McCartney as Jack Sparrow's namesake, Uncle Jack. Despite the studio and producer guideline that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom would not return, as well as the actors' initial comments about returning to their roles after At World's End, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner returned in cameo appearances in Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The film was shot in Australia after the government agreed to repurpose $20 million of tax incentives originally intended for the remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Village Roadshow Studios and Port Douglas were used as filming locations. Production began in Australia on February 17, 2015, and wrapped on July 9. Although the scheduled theatrical release was on July 7, 2017, among other previously announced and subsequently delayed released dates, Dead Men Tell No Tales was released on May 26, 2017. The film was also given an alternative title, Salazar's Revenge, for marketing purposes in selected European, South American, and Asian countries.

Box office performance
The Pirates of the Caribbean film series was successful at the box office, with each film grossing over $650 million, and all but Dead Men Tell No Tales at some point ranking among the fifty highest-grossing films of all time. It became the first ever series to have multiple films passing the billion dollar mark in box office revenues with Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides, since followed by other film franchises.

The Curse of the Black Pearl was the third-highest-grossing 2003 film in North America, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Finding Nemo, and fourth worldwide, behind The Return of the King, Finding Nemo and The Matrix Reloaded. Dead Man's Chest was the most successful film of 2006 worldwide. At World's End led the worldwide grosses in 2007, though being only fourth in North America, behind Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Transformers.

On Stranger Tides was the third-highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and the fifth in North America. The first three sequels broke box office records upon release, of which the most notable are the opening-weekend record in North America (Dead Man's Chest), the Memorial-Day weekend record in North America (At World's End) and the opening-weekend record outside North America (On Stranger Tides).

Critical and public response
The series is noted for its high quality of acting talent. The visual and practical effects are considered some of the best ever done on film, so much so that audiences believed certain CGI elements of the films were real and done practically. However, the plots of the four sequels have received mixed reviews, with the general consensus that they are too bloated and convoluted to follow. Pirates of the Caribbean is noted for reinvigorating the pirate film genre after decades of either no pirate films or failed pirate films. The success of the series saw Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer try to replicate the franchise's success by releasing other big budget adventure films such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Lone Ranger, the latter of which was directed by Gore Verbinski. Both of them have failed to achieve critical or financial success.

Academy Awards
Together, the first three films were nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, of which a single award was won.

Golden Globe Awards
Together, all the five films were nominated for a total of 2 Golden Globe Awards, of which neither were won.

MTV Movie Awards
Together, all the first three films were nominated for a total of 13 MTV Movie Awards, of which 4 were won.

Teen Choice Awards
Together, the first four films were nominated for a total of 32 Teen Choice Awards, of which 17 were won.