While Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow has been central to every Pirates of the Caribbean movie so far, this is the reason that his return to Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would be a major problem. It is tricky for any franchise to move on from its original cast members. Through spinoffs, prequels, revivals, reboots, and sequels, most blockbuster series try to expand the world of their franchise. However, viewers are often attached to the most familiar, recognizable characters from the original movies.
This is part of why, even though A-list megastar Margot Robbie was attached to a reboot of the series at one point, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 still hasn’t happened. It is hard to imagine the franchise continuing without Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow, the pirate antihero who became more and more pivotal to its appeal as the series wore on. One of the reasons that Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s Margot Robbie reboot fell through seems to be that the creators of the series can’t work out whether to bring back Depp’s character.
Jack Sparrow’s Return Would Confirm Pirates Of The Caribbean Can’t Move On Without Him
Johnny Depp’s Comeback Would Prove The Pirates Of The Caribbean Are Inherently Limited
It is not yet known whether Johnny Depp will appear as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, but the answer to this question will unavoidably end up defining the sequel for better or worse. When he was first introduced in 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl, Depp’s feckless scene-stealer was a supporting character in a story that centered on Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner and Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann. Sparrow proved so popular with audiences that he took on a much more central role in the original trilogy’s next two movies.
This made the storylines of Pirates of the Caribbean: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest and its 2007 followup At World’s End busier and more confusing, but the worst was yet to come. The subsequent sequels On Stranger Tides and ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales dropped any remaining pretense and made Sparrow their main character. This resulted in disastrously bad reviews for On Stranger Tides and reduced box office returns for ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales, which was also considered the worst movie in the series so far by critics
The never-ending delays faced by Pirates of the Caribbean 6 proves that the series still hasn’t committed to replacing Depp’s character.
Clearly, Jack Sparrow’s tenure as the main character of the franchise didn’t work out. However, the never-ending delays faced by Pirates of the Caribbean 6 proves that the series still hasn’t committed to replacing Depp’s character, either. This leaves the series in an unenviable limbo with no plan for its future. Dropping Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would force the creators to work without their most consistent protagonist, but bringing him back would prove that the franchise has no new ideas left.
Jack Sparrow Is Great, But Pirates Of The Caribbean Should Not Be Dependent On Him
The Antihero’s Original Appeal Is Lost In The Franchise’s Sequels
Depp’s character is the best thing about The Curse of the Black Pearl, and that’s an impressive achievement. Knightley is superb in a star-making turn, the villains remain genuinely creepy, and the action set-pieces are unrivaled. The writing sparkles and even minor supporting characters like Pintel and Raghetti get a chance to shine, so Depp managing to make more of an impression than all of these elements is no small feat.
However, with each Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, Sparrow felt less special and less inspired. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies ruined Jack Sparrow before ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales by forcing a great supporting character to become a terrible protagonist. Sparrow’s entire appeal was rooted in his wily ability to bounce between heroism and villainy, but this just wasn’t as compelling or surprising when he was the movie’s main focus.
Pirates Of The Caribbean Was Not Even About Jack Sparrow In The First Movie
Pirates Of The Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow Works Best In Small Doses
Jack Sparrow always worked better as a supporting character, and the later sequels proved just how important it is to have a compelling main story, regardless of whether Depp’s character is around. Barbossa and Jack’s unresolved Pirates of the Caribbean plot hole wouldn’t have been a problem if the pair had remained supporting characters in the franchise, but it became a real issue since they were the primary focus on both On Stranger Tides and ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Tell No Tales.
Without an Elizabeth Swann or a Will Turner to bounce off, Sparrow’s shtick became tired and predictable. Moreover, his ability to scam his way out of certain death on every occasion sapped the series of any substantial tension. From The Curse of the Black Pearl onward it was always clear that Jack was nigh-invulnerable, so viewers needed other main characters to get invested in. When the Pirates of the Caribbean movies failed to provide them, the sequels inadvertently doomed Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s story.
