How Disney’s Changes Helped POTC 5 (But Didn’t Fully Save It)

Disney’s changes to Pirates of the Caribbean 5’s script salvaged the movie, especially by including Will Turner’s son in the search for the Trident.

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Disney made numerous changes to fix Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, albeit not enough to save the film. Receiving poor reviews and a lower box office haul than previous sequels, the blockbuster is considered the weakest installment in the swashbuckling franchise. Nevertheless, Disney is still developing two more Pirates of the Caribbean projects, one supposedly adopting the main continuity and a planned spinoff with Margot Robbie.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is set 22 years after the tragic climax of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. It follows Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) as he searches for the Trident of Poseidon to free his father, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), from the Flying Dutchman’s curse. He is joined on his mission by astronomer Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) and a down-on-his-luck Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), feeling lost without his beloved Black Pearl. The film harkens back to the original with its ghost pirates, led by the vengeful Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem).

The plot is less convoluted than previous entries, and Will and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) make a welcome if fleeting return, but Dead Men Tell No Tales is still riddled with flaws. However, the film could have been much worse. Disney delivered a semi-satisfactory end to the original trio’s story, whereas Jeff Nathanson’s early draft had no Turner family connection, more distracting side antics for Jack, and an overly complicated climax involving Poseidon’s Tomb.

Will Turner’s Son Gives POTC Its Emotional Story

The emotional core of Dead Men Tell No Tales is Henry saving his cursed father from an eternity of ferrying souls to the afterlife. While many were disappointed that Will only bookends the movie, his presence effectively lends importance to Henry’s journey. Elizabeth’s disappointing non-speaking cameo was revealed to be a late addition, yet it’s a huge surprise to find Will never appears in Nathanson’s script, and Henry is simply a ship’s servant with the surname Maddox. His original story sees him fall in love with a civilian girl rescued by British soldiers, only for their vessel to be pulled into the Devil’s Triangle right at the beginning. He escapes but is determined to return and save her, leading to a doomed and underdeveloped romance wherein he ultimately discovers she is a ghost, having been killed. This subplot essentially repeats the forgettable love story from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

None of this carries any emotional weight, and Henry’s story – as he is accompanied by Jack in the search for his love interest – too closely resembles Will’s that it’s misguided for him not to be his son. Changing Dead Men Tell No Tales’ plan to incorporate Henry’s parentage was its best idea. Henry Turner isn’t nearly as compelling as his father, but his mission in the final film to find Jack Sparrow and free him from prison effectively mirrors the original. It generates considerably greater emotional investment based primarily on viewers’ familiarity with the Turners.

The Film Is More Family-Friendly

Dead Men Tell No Tales is much more restrained with its violence, with the darker elements having been removed. The early draft is overly gruesome, with a particular interest in throat-slitting, executing witches, and Jack firing a severed head from a canon during the guillotine sequence. Disney would never have allowed all of this to be filmed, instead delivering a family-friendly blockbuster with the most sanitized and comical depiction of pirates in the series, which is perhaps what was needed following the controversial previous entries.

That’s not to say the plot hole-filled Dead Men Tell No Tales is without some adult humor, but the unused script exhibits a far more leering attitude towards women. The film was originally going to recreate the most problematic scene from the Disneyland ride, with pirates bidding on Carina at an auction. The auctioneer even spouts sketchy dialogue straight from the attraction. Having the female lead sold into slavery, and then quickly abandoning this plot point, is hardly suitable for a Disney blockbuster. Another positive change concerns the witch, Shansa (Golshifteh Farahani), a minor character in the film but originally envisioned as a secondary antagonist. She appears naked in the draft, her body partially covered by her hair, which overshadows her supernatural abilities in the original script.

Jack Is Less Distracting

One of the biggest criticisms of Dead Men Tell No Tales – and the overall franchise – is Disney’s overreliance on Depp’s Jack Sparrow. The film ruins his characterization, reduced from a devious trickster to a bumbling fool, but at least he has a connection to Henry Turner which warrants his involvement in the story. This is sorely missed in the early script. Jack is still the main character, but a rather superfluous and very passive protagonist. One of the film’s worst scenes is Jack’s shotgun wedding but, luckily, it ends abruptly due to Barbossa’s (Geoffrey Rush) well-timed intervention. This is an entire subplot in the draft, with several laborious scenes grinding the story to a halt. The film also omits an early idea to have Jack Sparrow warned he will be killed by his own sword, resulting in an overused running gag whereby he repeatedly throws the weapon away, only for it to mysteriously return to him. Neither plot point adds anything to the story and further diminishes his once-great characterization, but Disney thankfully reduced his comical antics in the final version to a minimum by comparison.

Salazar Is A More Effective Villain

Salazar isn’t as intimidating as the trailers promised, but he still has a clear reason to hate Jack Sparrow, and his revenge plot is simple enough for Dead Men Tell No Tales to not get bogged down in exposition. The same can’t be said for the draft, in which the villain is largely similar but called Captain John Brand. Instead of an infamous Spanish soldier, Brand is merely another officer in the British Navy, instantly making him less interesting. His backstory is also far more convoluted, with returning villain Barbossa slowing down the plot to recite his origin. Brand’s soldier brother, Eric, was thrown overboard during a battle and saved by Jack, who trained him to become a pirate. Brand then accidentally killed his own brother along with the pirates he slaughtered, before pursuing Jack into the Devil’s Triangle. Jack had no cunning plan to outsmart Brand, merely blasting the Silent Mary, and the villain, inexplicably, cut his own throat to deny Jack his victory.

This origin makes little sense, and Brand’s hatred for Jack is unfounded. Brand murdering his brother could have provided an intriguing backstory if it weren’t entirely glossed over in the rest of the draft. No explanation is offered for Jack training a pirate, nor for the revelation that Jack somehow gave Eric command of his own pirate ship. Too much exposition is required, and Brand remains trapped in the Devil’s Triangle for most of the story. In contrast, Salazar is simply a relentless hunter who massacres pirates. He deems their lives worthless, showing no mercy, and this bloodlust begets his downfall. There’s not much attempt to humanize Salazar beyond a brief reference to pirates killing his father, but his motivation is perfectly clear. He also escapes the Triangle much earlier in Dead Men Tell No Tales, justifying why Jack must help Henry and Carina find the Trident and save himself.

The Trident Has A Clear Purpose

The Trident of Poseidon is an underwhelming MacGuffin in the film, but it adequately sets the plot in motion. Henry has the strongest motivation of all the characters in Dead Men Tell No Tales – uncover the Trident which can break every curse at sea. Other characters’ desires are less compelling yet still work. Jack Sparrow and Barbossa need to defeat Salazar, and Carina believes she is finishing her father’s research by locating the Trident. Ultimately, the powers of the Trident don’t really matter, but its place within the story is critical. The unused script complicates matters significantly, adding a diamond known as the Eye of Poseidon, which must be found to determine the Trident’s location.

Poseidon’s Tomb is far more elaborate than it appears in the film. After navigating an island infested with giant skeletal birds and man-eating Venus flytraps, the heroes discover an underground golden fortress. Several fights and chase sequences follow before the draft eventually ends the same way as in the film. The locations are more imaginative, but none of the characters really know what they want. Jack only desires the Trident to restore the miniaturized Black Pearl and Barbossa contemplates selling the Trident to warring nations despite already being rich. Carina hopes to gain respect by presenting the weapon to the King of England, without any rational consideration of its power. The Trident holds no grand meaning, and there is no personal aspect to the mission. Disney’s reinvention thankfully salvaged Dead Men Tell No Tales’ reason for even existing.

How Disney’s Changes Helped Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (But Didn’t Fully Save It)

By spotlighting Will Turner’s son, the plot carries weight and boasts the emotional core absent in the draft. Henry’s romance with Carina in Dead Men Tell No Tales isn’t necessary but does strengthen the comparison to Will’s arc. The addition of Jack helping Henry to break Will’s curse offers a chance to atone for the pirate’s previous misdeeds. Many of the changes simplify a script that is far too confusing, with an overlong finale that fails to raise the stakes. Although Carina is still depicted as Barbossa’s daughter, her character lacks any development, rectified in the film by her adoption of Barbossa’s surname.

Many changes were made to benefit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, but they couldn’t save the movie. The larger plot beats remain the same and Jack’s writing is still lazy and ill-conceived, undermining Henry and Carina’s story. Will and Elizabeth’s fleeting appearances leave much to be desired. However, their much longed-for reunion finally provides closure for a tragic movie romance.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/pirates-caribbean-5-disney-script-changes-fix-save/