For some folks there really is NO Pirates of the Caribbean without Captain Jack Sparrow since he more or less made the movie from the beginning and was the most entertaining character in the bunch. But it’s been obvious that throughout the series thus far that each new movie has lacked something that the first had in spades and the devolution of Jack Sparrow has been getting more and more obvious with each new release. This last one, Dead Men Tell No Tales, felt so forced that one can imagine that it was being forced onto the big screen by the tip of a blade. The problem is that Disney realized they had a winning story and a character that could draw people in and they did what a lot of studios tend to do, they went for the cash grab and managed to turn it into another successful movie, and then another one, and then…not so much, and then not so much again. Let’s be fair, On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales didn’t need to be made since Jack’s story arc wasn’t given a definitive beginning or end, but it didn’t need one. Much like the Joker in this regard, Jack Sparrow is best left to mystery when it comes to his origins and where he’s bound to end up by the end of the story. But as Scott Campbell of We Got This Covered tends to allude to, people don’t want another Pirates movie without Jack.
Of course that could mean some people, or a lot of people, or just those that are interested in seeing Johnny Depp come back, but in a sense it does feel as though a lot of people would make this claim since Captain Jack Sparrow is without a doubt the most dynamic character in the bunch and thanks to his loose and constantly shifting moral compass he’s a lot more interesting than Will Turner or any other character in the story. Brian Truitt of USA Today might agree with this in his own way. But the issue that clouded his time on the Fantastic Beasts movies is also possibly the same reason why Disney might not be seriously looking at him for the reboot of Pirates, as his messy divorce from Amber Heard and the slew of inconsistencies that has marred his reputation tends to make for a less desirable decision for Disney. Unfortunately if that is the only reason then it’s incredibly petty and shows no faith or even a speck of trust in Depp after everything he’s done for this franchise. Thinking of the immensely talented cast that made the movies possible it’s still easy to single Depp out since the story tends to revolve around his character even when he’s not even the main character. Does anyone remember that in the first movie Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner were the fated lovers that were supposedly driving the narrative? Jack Sparrow was the wild card more or less, the guy that was tossed in to give the movie a bit of spice. And yet he became the biggest part of it and possibly the best. Orlando Jones, good of an actor as he is, came off way too stiff, while Kiera Knightley came off as a bit too forward at times and even more than a little pointlessly aggressive at others.
The petition that’s been compiled to keep Depp on as Captain Jack has reached a startling number of signatures but as one can imagine Hollywood execs and Disney might look at it and laugh, and that would be the kind reaction. Riza Siddiqui of Change.org is obviously hoping this isn’t the case, but many people know that this might be so. Petitions unfortunately don’t really carry the weight of the paper they’re written on. If a fan base wants to remind Disney who they’re beholden to, apart from their stockholders, then the best bet is to hit Disney in the wallet, which is kind of difficult when it comes to one movie franchise since Pirates, despite being a lot of fun to begin with, kind of went down the tubes after a while and at this point the franchise isn’t even close to matching Star Wars or the MCU or even other Disney classics that are continually being brought back in one form or another. It might appear hopeless but if Disney was to feel even a minor pinch in their corporate wallet it’s a hope that they’d realize that there are times when the fans know what they want, especially when Disney and other studios aren’t doing their best to distract them so that their directors can take their own approach towards giving them what the director wants to show. In this case however it would be in Disney’s best interests to make sure that Jack Sparrow is a part of the reboot, and that Johnny Depp is back in character when the cameras start rolling, if only because he’s the moneymaker when it comes to the franchise.
Follow Us
