The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise is a true
sensation taking everything into account. What started as an adapatation of a popular
disney theme park ride turned into one of the most profitable brand names in recent
film history... a brand that now first and foremost is being associated with a drunk,
rather funny walking and simultaneously brilliant pirate: Jack Sparrow.
We accompanied him 5 times, watched him battle the undead and look for treasures. But ever
since Dead Men Tell No Tales it has become awfully quiet when it comes to Jack Sparrow.
Interestingly enough Part 5 was originally meant to set the stage for the grand finale.
But after lukewarm reviewers and rather disappointing box office results a 6th film was put on hold.
That did however not stop the constant rumors regarding a new entry for the series. Ranging
from a continuing chaper to the idea of a reboot, that would focus on a new generation
of characters without the appearance of Johnny Depp aka Captain Jack Sparrow.
Why do we even need a part 6? What is so special about this franchise and why does Jack Sparrow
need to returrn once more? All of these questions will now be answered.
And since I will discuss plot points from all previous pirates films a spoiler warning
is in effect.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a milestone when it comes to film franchises and like many
other tales of success, not everything went according to plan.
The role of Neo from the Matrix for example was originally written with Will Smith in
mind, the shark from jaws was meant to be seen all the time and Johnny Depp almost never
became the captain of the black pearl.
In the case of Matrix Will Smith rejected the script in order to star in Wild Wild West.
The animatronic shark from Steven Spielbergs classic was causing problems and Disney was
not fond of the way Johnny Depp portrayed the character.
But in hindsight we couldnt imagine anyone but Keanu Reeves playing Neo, jaws became
a success because of what we didn't see and Johnny Depps Jack Sparrow is now considered
to be one of the icons of blockbuster history.
Noone saw the success of the first film coming – after all the movie managed to bring back
a long gone genre: The pirate adventure.
Charming characters, impressive sets, locations and frames, the combining of fairy tale, fantasy
and adventure were crucial key factors that conjured the love of viewers world wide.
Surprisingly though the film shares a a lot of similarities with another cult classic
that once no one believed in: Star Wars.
Both films follow a young naive hero with a good heart who due to exterior circumstances
becomes entangled in an adventure. Both films feature a cool antihero who joins forces with
our lead character in order to free a beautiful yet tough royal daughter, who has been kidnapped
by a villain whose past is linked to our hero.
The film became a huge success and similar to star wars – was turned into a trilogy.
The sequels were also heavily influenced by the space opera. The second film ended on
a cliffhanger in which the fate of our charismatic rogue was left hanging in the balance while
part 3 dealt with a rescue mission and our heroes journey to become a larger than live
being like his father before him.
Even though the sequels received mixed revies i personally gotta admit that there isnt a
single one of these films that i flat out hated. The first remains the undisputed number
one but i got something out of all of these films.
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 drastically changed the direction of the franchise. Will Turner
and and Elisabeth Swan were no longer part of the series. Instead we witnessed Jack Sparrows
first standalone adventure. Until this very day i seem to be one of the
few people that actually enjoyed this film. It wasnt an epic battle between good and evil
like in the previous sequels but rather a simple pirate adventure something that i personally
wanted to see during part 2 and 3.
The return of Barbossa made me happy as well. To me personally hes every bit as important
for the franchise as Johnny Depp is and their relationship became increasingly more interesting
with each film. Sometimes they were mortal enemies. Sometimes
just rivals and sometimes even allies.
On Stranger Tides dealt with the notorious fountain of youth that a lot of folks (good
guys, bad guys and everything in between) were after. This chase reminded me of Raiders
of the lost arc.
Part 5 or Dead Men Tell No Tales had a similar concept but simultaneously introduced new
blood: Henry Turner the son of Will and Elisabeth as well as Carina Smyth who near the end of
the film was revealed to be Barbossas daughter.
These new characters are reason enough to reject the idea of a reboot in order to introduce
fresh faces. After all we have literally just met them and their connection to our old heroes
alone makes them interesting.
Dead Men Tell No Tales had a rather surprising ending. Not only did Hector Barbossa die a
hero – no both Will and elisabeth returned and the davy jones curse was finally lifted.
But the genuine surprise was the return of the diabolical captain of the flying dutchman.
To reboot the franchise now with all of these lose ends and unanswered questions out there
would be a shame.
It would seem much more reasonable to put the most tragic villain of the entire series
back for one last time: Davy Jones.
The tragic yet villanous antagonist would have a bone to pick with Jack. The return
of Will Elisabeth as well as the passing of the torch to Henry and Carina also seems overdue.
But first and foremost it would be a massive shame to bid farewell to Jack in such an uninspired
way.
Because his story is far from over. Up until now every single pirates of the caribbean
chapter gave him the same ending. Him embarking on a new quest.
That was the end of part 1, the sequels part 4 and 5. But eventually Jacks story needs
to come to an end.
Either through a heroic death or through him giving up his pirate life.
And this would be the ideal moment to bring back Angelica who was first introduced in
Pirates 4. She was the one who almost made Jack an honest
man but in the end he did choose the sea.
And lets be honest Jack Sparrow needs some redemption after part 5. After all the Jack
we saw in Dead Men Tell no Tales was merely a charicature of the whitty character weve
grown to love.
He was a complete doofus who walked around with no pants and made it through life due
to nothin but luck.
The brilliance of the character was always the fact that he seemed stupid to others.
In reality he was always cunning and a man with a plan. Every single time Jack was in
trouble he came out on top. All thanks to his intellect. Even if he wasnt the best fighter
he managed to beat Turner, Barbossa and Davy Jones since he was a dirty fighter who always
planned one step ahead.
It is exactly this Jack Sparrow that we do need to see again before he ends his pirate
life.
What do you guys think? Do you want to see Pirates of the Caribbean Part 6 or do you
prefer a reboot? Let me know in the comment section below. For other orinigal content
– check out these videos!