Summary
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Margot Robbie’s
Pirates of the Caribbean
spinoff offers a fresh start for the franchise with new narrative possibilities. - Jack Sparrow’s character has been overdone, and the franchise could benefit from a new lead.
- The spinoff has the potential to have a more historically inspired story and can do justice to past supporting characters.
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The planned Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff starring Margot Robbie constitutes much more exciting possibilities than a straightforward sixth Pirates of the Caribbean installment. Since Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow made his dazzling debut in the summer hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has seen a steady decrease in quality. Multiple “final” installments have been produced, only leading to another when it turned out to be a disappointing finale. Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff recently got a promising update and could be the fresh start the franchise sorely needs.
Also in development is Pirates of the Caribbean 6, a reboot that may or may not feature Depp. When longtime Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer clarified that there are two separate movies in the works, he stated that he would still like to see Depp return (via Deadline):
“It’s a reboot, but if it was up to me, he would be in it. [..] I love him. He’s a good friend. He’s an amazing artist and he’s a unique look. He created Captain Jack.”
However, a Captain Jack Sparrow cameo is the last thing the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot needs, for a variety of in-story and real-life reasons. What the franchise does need is a new story that will inherently bring with it other exciting new narrative and marketing concepts.
|
Movie |
Rotten Tomatoes score |
Metacritic score |
Audience score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) |
80% |
63% |
86% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) |
53% |
53% |
72% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) |
44% |
50% |
72% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) |
33% |
45% |
54% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) |
30% |
39% |
60% |
8 Jack Sparrow’s Character Has Been Overdone
Jack Sparrow was once a revolutionary character but has since lost his spark.
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When Curse of the Black Pearl first came out, its biggest selling point was the character of Jack Sparrow. Mysteriously witty and erratic, Jack always fell somewhere between seeming like he had no idea what he was doing and reliably having a brilliant way out, while consistently delivering hilarious, razor-sharp one-liners. Depp scored a surprise Oscar nomination — something that is still a rarity for action movies — for his performance unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.
Yet over time, Jack’s character was worn out. The stories forced too many moral dilemmas on him, and this was never what made the character popular. Additionally, Jack becomes less intelligent as the Pirates of the Caribbean story goes on, devolving more into a wacky and none-too-bright persona rather than maintaining any of Jack’s original wit. By now, it would be preferable that Disney stopped trying to salvage Jack’s character and doesn’t ruin him even more.
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7 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Will Attract New Writers & Directors
Birds of Prey’s writer is already working on the Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff.
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As a new story, Robbie’s movie represents more freedom for a writer or director to do what they want with Pirates of the Caribbean.
Deadline reports that Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, Dead Men Tell No Tales) is penning the script for the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot while Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey, Fast X: Part 2) is working on Robbie’s Pirates spinoff. The fact that Disney is bringing back the writer of the worst Pirates of the Caribbean movie to date for its sequel is not reassuring. Yet Hodson and Robbie reuniting for Pirates of the Caribbean also represents an obstacle for the movie to overcome.
Yet despite Birds of Brey’s box office failure, it received decent reviews, ultimately making Hodson the more promising screenwriter in this context. The situation also demonstrates how Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie has the potential to draw in new filmmakers for a fresh take, particularly writers and directors. In the case of the reboot, the best Disney could do was bring back an old writer. As a new story, Robbie’s movie represents more freedom for a writer or director to do what they want with Pirates of the Caribbean. On the other hand, there will be more constraints to writing a reboot.
Additionally, Robbie has worked with an impressive number of acclaimed filmmakers who may join Pirates of the Caribbean for the chance to collaborate with her again. Greta Gerwig writing and directing Pirates would be spectacular, although she will likely be busy with Netflix’s Chronicles of Narnia reboot for the next few years. However, Robbie could still draw in other directors and actors who could restore the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
6 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Can Have A More Gender-Inclusive Cast
Women have a limited role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, while there are no LGBTQ+ characters.
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To date, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies all adhere to a formula of there being two supporting female characters per movie who actually affect the plot — barring roles that are essentially cameos, such as Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Robbie’s spinoff inherently breaks away from this formula, which seems to think that there can’t be too many female characters because it would not be “historically accurate,” in a franchise that is not at all historically accurate to begin with. Robbie suggested that her movie would thematically focus more on women’s perspectives, saying (Deadline):
“We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led — not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story […].”
Additionally, Pirates of the Caribbean has yet to feature any confirmed LGBTQ+ characters. Meanwhile, Our Flag Mean’s Death’s brief but influential run has drawn even more attention to the history of queer individuals who participated in the Golden Age of Piracy. In addition to featuring more female characters, the Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff should strive to include gender-nonconforming characters and actors.
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5 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Can Do Supporting POTC Characters Justice
While the Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff will focus on new characters, old supporting characters could still appear.
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A Pirates of the Caribbean reboot either has to recast old characters or adhere to some kind of continuity, depending on what kind of reboot it is. However, a spinoff can feature supporting characters from the previous movies without much explanation, as it is plausible that Robbie’s character just happens to run across them at a different point in their lives. This means that any of the supporting or side characters from Pirates of the Caribbean could return for the spinoff — including the ones who were maligned by their previous movies in the franchise.
To this day, Zoe Saldaña’s Anamaria is the best supporting Pirates of the Caribbean character with the most untapped potential, due to Saldaña leaving the franchise because of a difficult filming experience before the character had been fully developed. However, Saldaña’s Pirates of the Caribbean return is now possible, with Bruckheimer having apologized to her for the experience and apparently patched up their professional relationship. Saldaña, or a recast version of her character, would be an excellent addition to Robbie’s movie.
There are still some other side characters from Pirates of the Caribbean who could have been handled better and could be given new life in Robbie’s spinoff. The mermaids in On Stranger Tides were an interesting concept, but are associated with some of the plot holes spanning the five Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The Brethren Court from At World’s End also represents a wide array of vaguely historically-inspired pirates, none of whom are fleshed out in their brief scenes.
4 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Doesn’t Need To Have “Bigger & Better” Action
The Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff can plan action sequences on its own terms.
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Once, Pirates of the Caribbean was characterized by expertly choreographed, relatively down-to-earth sword fights that seemed to take inspiration from The Princess Bride. With each additional sequel, the filmmakers faced pressure to top whatever was seen in the last movie. For the most part, this worked in Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, where the characters still show off their dueling skills under increasingly difficult circumstances, such as the iconic wheel sequence or Jack and Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) fighting during the final battle.
However, the action in On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales is much lazier, utilizing a lot of cuts that hide most of the sword fighting and throwing in one major set piece to try and outdo the previous movies in terms of spectacle. As a spinoff, Robbie’s movie is less attached to the previous installments and bears less obligation to do anything the way it has been done before. “Spinoff” typically connotes a smaller-scale story, meaning Robbie and her collaborators can return to more basic action concepts based on the actors actually learning swordplay.
3 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Can Do More With The Historical Golden Age Of Piracy
The Pirates of the Caribbean timeline has moved past the Golden Age of Piracy.
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One of the reasons that Black Sails is better than Pirates of the Caribbean is the former’s use of historical pirates and depiction of the Golden Age of Piracy. The only historical pirate who plays a major role in any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is On Stranger Tides’ Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Additionally, according to Pirates of the Caribbean’s chronology, the first movies take place roughly in the early 1720s, just around the time this era ended. With the latter movies’ 1750-51 setting the Golden Age of Piracy is long in the past.
Robbie’s spinoff once again, has less of an obligation to fit within the original’s continuity and could be set at any time in the 18th century. As a new series with a new tone, it could also steer away from too many supernatural elements and towards more historical ones. Pirates of the Caribbean has always depicted a fictionalized version of the Golden Age of Piracy, but actually having it take place during this era could still lead to a better movie.
2 Margot Robbie’s Experience Makes Her Perfect To Lead A Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff
Robbie has a history of playing various eccentric and intelligent action and drama heroines.
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Robbie’s career spans characters who are adventurous, vicious, carefree, down-to-earth, and completely bizarre.
Robbie is a proven dramatic actress, demonstrated by movies such as Bombshell, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and I, Tonya. However, she is also known for playing more eccentric characters, including Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad movies and the bubbly title character of Barbie, both of whom still have some depth despite being wild and comedic characters. Robbie’s career spans characters who are adventurous, vicious, carefree, down-to-earth, and completely bizarre.
In short, Robbie has all the tools and experience she needs to craft a new lead for Pirates of the Caribbean who can live up to and even surpass Captain Jack. Her experience suggests that by mixing her past characters’ personality traits, she could come up with a character who embodies Pirates of the Caribbean’s comedic elements but is still intelligent and adventure-savvy. She also has two Oscar nominations for acting under her belt, one of the reasons any movie she is in draws attention.
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1 Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff Is The True Fresh Start The Franchise Needs
Any Pirates of the Caribbean “reboot” would still be overshadowed by past movies.
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Ultimately, Robbie’s spinoff would likely be the true Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that would allow the franchise to start anew.Dead Men Tell No Tales was said to be a soft reboot, but ultimately followed up on the franchise’s older storylines. The upcoming, so-called reboot is likely to do the same thing if Jack is a part of the story in any way. If it is a true remake with recast characters or tells a story that is very similar to Curse of the Black Pearl, it bears the burden of living up to the flagship movie’s success.
In contrast, Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie probably has no connection to the original other than having the same setting and aesthetic and can function as its own original story. One of this franchise’s biggest problems in the past 10 years is how it has been trying to recapture the success of the original. This more than anything illustrates how Bruckheimer and his team need to let go of the old, admittedly beloved characters and dedicate their efforts to new ones.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Director Gore Verbinski Gore Verbinski Gore Verbinski Rob Marshall Joachim Rønning Release Date 2003-07-09 2006-07-06 2007-05-19 2011-05-07 2017-05-26 Writers Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott Rob Marshall Johnny Depp, Joachim Rønning Cast Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Jonathan Pryce Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Jonathan Pryce Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom Kevin R. McNally, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Johnny Depp, Sam Claflin, Penelope Cruz Geoffrey Rush, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom
Source: Deadline