Whether Johnny Depp will return as Jack Sparrow is the main question on everyone’s mind for Pirates of the Caribbean 6, but the movie’s main priority should actually be ending a disappointing franchise trend. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise began with 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl. Since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was based on an amusement park ride, expectations were not necessarily high for the film. However, The Curse of the Black Pearl ended up being a mᴀssive success.

The Curse of the Black Pearl turned Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann into iconic characters, and audiences wanted to see more of them. Therefore, the success of The Curse of the Black Pearl led to several more Pirates of the Caribbean movies being made. However, none of the sequels have been able to reclaim the critical success that the first movie achieved. In fact, every Pirates of the Caribbean sequel has a “Rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is something the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean 6 needs to change.

Every Pirates Of The Caribbean Sequel Has A Rotten Score On RT

The Pirates Of The Caribbean Sequels Don’t Have Good Reviews

Since Pirates of the Caribbean is viewed as such an iconic, well-known franchise, it is somewhat shocking that every sequel in the series has a Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. To achieve a Rotten score on the review aggregator platform, a film needs to have a score of below 60%. Therefore, it is clear that critics did not like any of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. The Rotten Tomatoes scores for all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies can be viewed in the table below:

It is not necessarily surprising that On Stranger Tides and ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales received low scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Gore Verbinski, the director of the first three Pirates films, left the franchise after the third film along with several main actors, leaving the series in an uncertain position. While Depp stayed on as Jack Sparrow for the fourth and fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movies, they could not recapture the magic of the original film.

Why None Of The POTC Sequels Were As Good As The Curse Of The Black Pearl

The Pirates Of The Caribbean Sequels Expand The World Of The Franchise

While it is not surprising that the fourth and fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movies were not well-received, it is surprising that critics and a lot of fans didn’t appreciate the second and third films in the franchise. After the success of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney immediately wanted to make more Pirates of the Caribbean movies. This led to Gore Verbinski shooting ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest and At World’s End back to back.

While these movies expanded the world of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise a lot, they couldn’t necessarily recreate what made The Curse of the Black Pearl so special. Negative reviews of ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest and At World’s End note that the plot of the film’s actually get too complex and choose to focus on grandeur and intense battles, rather than the classic adventure that was shown in the first movie. Additionally, some critics argue that Jack Sparrow is actually featured too much in the sequels, since he was technically not the protagonist of The Curse of the Black Pearl.

What Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Needs To Be As Good As The First One

Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Needs To Receive Strong Reviews

Overall, it is generally believed that none of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels have been as good as the first film. This doesn’t necessarily put the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean 6 in a good position, as there is a lot that is working against it. Following up the two lowest-rated entries in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is facing an uphill battle. Additionally, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the film, since a large portion of fans desperately want Depp to return as Jack Sparrow.

However, Depp doesn’t have to return as Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 to be a success. In fact, it might be better if he doesn’t, since now is the perfect time to reboot the franchise. If Pirates of the Caribbean 6 starts with a blank slate, it can introduce new characters and take them on a fresh adventure. While there will undoubtedly be backlash if Jack Sparrow isn’t included, as long as the movie is well-made, then there’s no reason why Pirates of the Caribbean 6 can’t be a success and end this disappointing Rotten Tomatoes streak.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes