Summary
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Pirates of the Caribbean 6
should bring back director Gore Verbinski for his skillful storytelling and impressive action sequences. - The film should avoid revisiting Davy Jones as a villain to maintain the integrity of his previous death and to avoid the criticism of CGI.
- Introducing real-life pirates like Mary Read and Anne Bonny would add depth to the plot, especially if their true genders were revealed later on.
Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has been in development purgatory for years, and there are a few things Disney can to do to stop the swashbuckling franchise from sinking. The first movie in the franchise, The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, was a phenomenal success despite being based on a Disney World attraction. Thanks to the spectacular sea adventure, creative and simple world-building, and, of course, the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), the movie made $654 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). The film went on to spawn five sequels and gross a total of $4.5 billion.
Despite making an average of $750 million per movie, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is at something of a standstill. The last movie in the series was 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which made almost $800 million worldwide. However, it was considered a disappointment following a string of billion-dollar movies. On top of that, the fourth and fifth films were negatively received. While there have been talks about two Pirates sequels in development, including one where Margot Robbie replaces Jack Sparrow in the lead role, there hasn’t been any progress on either. Nevertheless, Disney can still steady the ship.
8 Gore Verbinski Should Direct Pirates Of The Caribbean 6
Gore Verbinksi directed the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. While the third film received a mixed reception, it still had an overarching narrative where every story arc was neatly and definitively wrapped up. Additionally, the action sequences were of a high standard. After Verbinksi left the series, the quality of the franchise dipped. The final two movies have a respective “rotten” score of 33% and 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, as the characters were underwritten (including Jack Sparrow) and the action was uninspired. Though Verbinski’s other movies aren’t spectacles, films such as The Lone Ranger showcase jaw-dropping action sequences. He also clearly knows the franchise better than anyone.
7 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Needs To Ignore Pirates 5’s Post-Credits Scene
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ post-credits scene, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) appears in Will’s room after he wakes up from a nightmare, hinting at a sixth movie where the villain is once again the main antagonist. However, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 should avoid revisiting Davy Jones, as it’d undermine his death in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The character was also entirely CGI in the post-credits scene (via Empire), and Nighy didn’t even know about the scene until it was released in theaters. This draws attention to the recent Disney CGI problem, which would sink Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s box office chances.
6 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Could Introduce More Real-Life Pirates
The two most recent installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise weren’t positively received, but they interpolated real-life pirates into the movies, which worked surprisingly well. Pirates of the Caribbean 6 could use real-life pirates too, as the most interesting of them haven’t been explored yet. Mary Read and Anne Bonny were two real-life pirates who grew up disguised as boys. They were illegitimate children, and their family wanted to avoid a scandal. The two became ruthless pirate captains, and they could become iconic characters. It’d make for a great plot twist if their true genders weren’t revealed until later in the movie.
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Must Cast Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie was originally attached to one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in development following Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Unfortunately, according to Robbie, Disney scrapped the project, though producer Jerry Bruckheimer says it’s just on the “backburner.” Either way, it seems like Disney is hesitant about the project. It shouldn’t be, as Robbie has proved twice that she can lead a franchise and play an iconic character, first with Harley Quinn in the DCEU, and now with Barbie, which has grossed over $1 billion.
4 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Should Be More Of An Adventure Movie
Each consecutive release in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise veered further and further away from the adventure genre. The focus of the most recent movies was CGI-filled action and comedy from Jack Sparrow. However, there was a great sense of adventure in The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, as three competing factions raced to find the Aztec gold. The franchise needs to return to this tone and style of storytelling. Given the demand for revivals of franchises like National Treasure, there’s a clear nostalgia for family-friendly adventure movies, something that the current cinema landscape is severely lacking.
3 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6’s Villain Should Pay Off The Aztec Gods
While Davy Jones shouldn’t be Pirates of the Caribbean 6’s villain, there’s a clear antagonist who has been mentioned in the series but has never been shown. If the Aztec Gods are the villains in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, it’d perfectly tie into the original movie without retreading the same story. It was the Aztec gods who cursed the gold in the first film, but they’ve always remained behind the scenes. If the Aztec gods were the villains in the movie instead of more sea creatures, it’d infinitely raise the stakes, making the film more epic, ambitious, and mythical.
2 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Needs A Lower Budget
One of the reasons Disney doesn’t know what direction to take the franchise in has to do with Pirates of the Caribbean’s expensive budget problem. The movies’ budgets snowballed to the point where Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became the most expensive movie of all time (the record was broken by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, but that movie at least made $2 billion). If Disney wants to see a decent return on investment, the studio needs to scale the sixth movie back. This has become a common Disney problem, as the studio’s recent projects have struggled to break even simply due to their sky-high budgets.
1 Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Must Avoid A Happy Cast Reunion
Keira Knightly only briefly appeared as Elizabeth Swann in a non-speaking role in the fifth movie, and Orlando Bloom made a small cameo as Will. It’s likely that Disney will want the next sequel to properly see the trio of Jack, Elizabeth, and Will back together. However, that movie would be riddled with the clichés that consume so many legacy sequels. The trio would undoubtedly have some sort of happy reunion, and it’d likely retread the same beats of the early movies. There’d likely be some heroic sacrifice as well, which has already been done countless times in the franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean 6 needs to avoid this at all costs.
Source: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, Empire