Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)

Pirates of the Caribbean is an American film series produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Disney's theme park attraction. The film series serves as a major component of the Pirates of the Caribbean media franchise. The films are set primarily in the Caribbean, based on a fictionalized version of the Golden Age of Piracy (c. 1650–1726) while also leading to the range of a mid-1700s setting.

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 (1–4) and Terry Rossio (1–5); 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 various other characters, including Jack's former first mate Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and first mate Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), over the course of the films.

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 earning $796 million.

The franchise has grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. It is the 17th-highest-grossing film series of all time, and is the first film franchise to produce two or more films that grossed over $1 billion.

Films

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.

The film is based on the 1987 novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

A group of ghostly Spanish 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.

Future

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. Rønning was reportedly set to direct the film.

In 2018, a sixth film was still in the works at Disney. That same year, Keira Knightley said she did not see herself returning for another installment because she is a mother now and that the films take too long to shoot. 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 had 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 development of the sixth installment.

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

On May 20, 2024, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bruckheimer provided further clarification on the series's status. Bruckheimer confirmed that, in addition to Elliott now writing National Treasure 3, there were two different Pirates movies in development. 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 he thought Disney was 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.

On December 4, 2024, a Variety article mentioned that Bruckheimer was developing two separate scripts, one of which featured Depp.