Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pitch Meeting
In the latest entry of our ongoing series, Screen Rant's Ryan George reveals what (probably) happened in the pitch meeting for the first entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The film starred Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Swan, a noblewoman kidnapped by pirates for her possession of a cursed medallion. Her love Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) sets off on a swashbuckling mission to rescue Elizabeth, enlisting the help of infamous pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). The blockbuster was a huge success, and introduced what would become Depp’s signature character.
Directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was one of the highest-grossing films of 2003. It spawned a big-budget trilogy of further adventures for Will, Elizabeth and Jack (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End) that raised the stakes and explored more fun pirate mythology, like battling Davy Jones and facing off with the Kraken.
It’s hard to imagine now that it’s one of Disney’s most successful action-adventure franchises, but before The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates was just a ride at Disney World. At one time, mentioning "Pirates of the Caribbean" wouldn’t evoke images of Jack Sparrow, but "one of those slow moving boat ride attractions" -- and that’s where the pitch meeting for this improbable success story begins. You can watch for yourself below:
Beyond the original trilogy, the Pirates of the Carribean franchise spawned two more films. 2011’s On Stranger Tides served as a standalone adventure for Jack Sparrow co-starring Penélope Cruz as the pair hunted down the Fountain of Youth and encountered the pirate Blackbeard. Dead Men Tell No Tales was a return to form when Jack meets Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), Will and Elizabeth’s son. That film set up what was supposed to be a new trilogy, but since its 2017 release, the state of the franchise has been in flux.
Disney cutting ties with Johnny Depp has left the future of the Pirates of the Caribbean series uncertain. Without Jack Sparrow, it’s hard to imagine a continuation of the storyline begun in Dead Men Tell No Tales. While Knightley or Bloom could return in larger roles, Jack was the standout character in the series and the connective tissue amongst the first five films.
That being said, two Pirates of the Caribbean films are currently moving forward without Depp. One of them is a spinoff led by Margot Robbie which will have nothing to do with Jack, Will, and Elizabeth’s adventures, so it won’t be necessary to explain Depp’s absence. Fewer details are available for the other Pirates project, whether it be a continuation of the original story or a full reboot. Regardless, Disney plans on keeping Pirates of the Caribbean around for the foreseeable future.
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