The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has had a memorable voyage over the years. Starting as a Disney theme park ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1967, decades later it turned into a 3.7 billion dollar blockbuster movie franchise over the course of five films. After the 2003 runaway hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, four sequels later emerged: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011), and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). The films were a mix of swash-buckling pirates and the supernatural worlds they encountered during their travels. The main star of the Pirates movies is Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, an often drunk but still incredibly calculated trickster who is a legendary pirate of the Seven Seas. The character has proven immensely popular with fans, which resulted, according to Variety, in an updating of the Disney theme park ride to include elements of the movies. Pirates of the Caribbean (the ride) is now found in multiple Disney parks around the world.

As the series continued on, however, it has been accused by some of overstaying its welcome. Critics have responded in turn with increasingly negative reviews, and the films have made less money at the box office in recent times. For the past few years now, Depp has also taken a hit to his reputation due to a lengthy legal battle with his ex-wife, Aquaman actress Amber Heard. Because of this, films like the Fantastic Beasts movies removed Depp from their cast, despite originally having plans to use him in multiple projects. In the meantime, there’s been the strong possibility that Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie is set to be taking over The Black Pearl (or perhaps a completely different ship) as a woman captain in a new Pirates film. That said, fans have petitioned for Depp to come back. Therefore, the future of the franchise is still considered by many to be in limbo. If Disney wants to go forward with their plans to make a reboot, perhaps this is the perfect time to create a Pirates of the Caribbean Disney+ series instead. Here are reasons why.


Related: Pirates of the Caribbean Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

Disney+ Shows Have Already Been Big Hits For Marvel and Star Wars Projects

While both Marvel and Stars Wars didn’t necessarily need to have spinoff shows to keep public interest, both gave less utilized characters the opportunity to flesh out their backstories (and continue their stories after the films) in all-new ways. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve all been big hits, giving at-home audiences the opportunity to get hooked on these series over the past two years without the need of going to a movie theater at the height of a global pandemic. Shows like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye for Marvel as well as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett for Star Wars were able to put sometimes overlooked heroes and anti-heroes in leading roles for the first time. This only enriched the universe in which these characters exist. If you’re looking to boost your core audience’s interest in watching the Pirates franchise again, a Disney+ series is the right place to start. Many casual Pirates fans who may not be interested enough in the franchise to go to see a new film in the theaters will now have a higher likelihood of watching if there’s a series on a streaming service they already have. Not to mention, all five previous Pirates films are currently available to view on Disney+ as well. Talk about an epic binge-watch.

To Help Audiences Invest in Pirates of the Caribbean Without Jack Sparrow

While the franchise had other notable stars like Orlando Bloom (as Will Turner), Keira Knightley (as Elizabeth Swann), and Geoffrey Rush (as Hector Barbossa), each of those characters’ stories were too intertwined with Jack Sparrow to easily stand on their own. A reboot may be able to somehow include them in some capacity, but then perhaps it wouldn’t be considered a full reboot. For this reason, new stars in the franchise need to be made. What a better place than in a series, where you have a longer period of time to get the characters connected with the audience. While you don’t want to erase Jack Sparrow from fans’ minds, you don’t want to extensively focus on him either. A reboot can pay homage to him without making fans wish he was actually there.


Related: These Are the Best Johnny Depp Performances of All Time

To Introduce and Build Up Characters For Future Pirates Films

It’s clear there are still plans to make more Pirates of the Caribbean films if Disney is attaching big-name stars to future projects and having scripts written. A series would be the perfect vehicle for new characters to be introduced. If Margot Robbie’s Pirates 6 movie moves forward, you could even have her make a cameo in the series to get fans excited about an upcoming film. You can also set up key role players in the films that fans would then be happy to see in a Hollywood movie sometime later. There are many options. A series can bring in a whole new generation while still attracting fans of the original movies from nearly two decades ago. A Pirates Disney+ series could be a win-win scenario for both Disney and fans alike.

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