Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Things You Never Knew About The Black Pearl

The Black Pearl has remained with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise since the start, here are some facts fans might not have known about it.

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Disney rarely releases movies with a PG-13 rating, although there are some exceptions. The Lone Ranger, John Carter, and Saving Mr. Banks all have been rated PG-13. In fact, Disney is currently releasing movies with that rating with the latest Mulan film. However, the first film Disney did this with is widely accepted to be Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

It was a gamble for Disney to release a PG-13 movie, but it, fortunately, paid off. Disney gave a higher budget to ensure authenticity, from Captain Jack Sparrow to his ship the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl has remained with the franchise since the beginning, and with it comes 10 facts you might not have known about it.

10 Its Real Name Is The Sunset

Originally, for filming the Pirates franchise, a set was built to look like the Black Pearl. While this was serviceable at the time, the filmmakers decided to expand the Black Pearl onto an already existing ship called the Sunset.

Having sailed across places such as Hawaii and Alabama, the Sunset seemed to be the perfect ship to use for the Black Pearl. To do this, production designer Rick Heinrichs designed the Black Pearl on top of the Sunset, leaving the Sunset still underneath the construction. The fact that Disney used a real ship to film the Black Pearl shows the level of dedication they had when making the films.

9 Two Films With Sunset As Black Pearl

However, this dedication wasn’t spread throughout the entirety of the franchise. Because Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End were filmed back-to-back, Disney was able to use the Sunset for the third film. But for the fourth and fifth films, they decided to go an alternate route.

With the Black Pearl being in a bottle in On Stranger Tides, an actual small replica of the ship was built and animated for the film. In the next installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales‎, most of the ship was done using CGI, with only the top of the ship being made practically.

8 The Black Pearl Isn’t In The Original Ride

By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is based on the theme park ride. What might not be so known is that the Black Pearl isn’t found in the original ride at all. Instead, a ship called the Wicked Wench takes its place.

The Wicked Wench is considerably different compared to the Black Pearl. While the Black Pearl has a black and dark color scheme, the Wicked Wench is more maroon with gold patterns. It is also less powerful than the Black Pearl, being slower and carrying significantly fewer cannons. While it may not be in the ride, it’s fortunate that Jack Sparrow got to captain the Black Pearl in the movies.

7 It Has 32 Cannons

In the movies, the Black Pearl was originally the Wicked Wench. It wasn’t a pirate ship, but rather a merchant ship for slaves. Because it didn’t encounter a lot of fights, it didn’t have much use for too many cannons. While the Wicked Wench had less than 20 cannons, the Black Pearl has 32.

This was an addition from Jack Sparrow after he commandeered the ship from Cutler Beckett. He spent years turning the Wicked Wench into the Black Pearl, adding more sails, cannons, and crew members (including Hector Barbossa). This shows just how much Jack cared about the ship to take the time to remodel it.

6 It Appears In Every Video Game

The Black Pearl has appeared in every Pirates of the Caribbean film, whether in its current state or as the Wicked Wench. In addition, it appears in every video game based on the franchise. To the early Game Boy Advance game based on the first movie to 2017’s mobile game Tides of War.

Not only that, but it also appears in crossover video games, too. These include Disney Infinity, the LEGO game based on the franchise, and Kingdom Hearts 2 & 3. It sometimes appears without Jack Sparrow, as it did in the role-playing game Pirates of the Caribbean. It proves how much of a staple the Black Pearl has become for the franchise.

5 It’s Galleon/East Indiaman

It may not look like it at first, but the Black Pearl is a combination of two ships: a galleon and an East Indiaman. East Indiaman ships were used for the East India Trading Company, which is what the Black Pearl was involved with under Beckett.

RELATED: Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Ways Real Life Pirate History Influenced The Franchise

The Black Pearl is a galleon not because of Jack Sparrow’s modifications, but because of its history. As revealed in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the Black Pearl was a pirate ship before being owned by Jack or Beckett. Galleons are stable in water and assembled with plenty of cannons, so it would be useful for a pirate to have one for war.

4 It’s The Fastest Ship

The Black Pearl is said by many to be the fastest ship ever, including Jack Sparrow and Will Turner. It’s so fast that it can even outrun the Flying Dutchman, unless they’re going against the wind. But it’s still considerably fast even when going against the wind, as it hardly loses any speed.

It is not completely definite how the Black Pearl is as fast as it is. It could be the size of the ship, the number of sails, or perhaps all of its factors combined. Whatever it may be, it’s clear that this is the most feared ship of the Caribbean for a reason.

3 It’s A Powerful Ship

Aside from being the fastest known ship in the world, it is also very powerful and tactful. One way is that its dark appearance can be used to sneak easily through the night. A feature added when it was burned by Beckett, this has been used to sneak into Port Royal and an abandoned ship.

In addition to its fast speed and dark appearance, its 32 cannons are also very powerful. In spite of having fewer cannons than other ships, it still has enough firepower to bring others to the wreckage. The Black Pearl has all of the markings to be one of the greatest ships in the Caribbean.

2 It Belonged To Barbossa 4 Times

The Black Pearl is usually regarded as Jack Sparrow’s ship, but there are several times throughout the franchise when it belonged to Barbossa. The first time was when Barbossa betrayed Jack and took the ship to look for treasure. The second time was when Barbossa and Jack led the Black Pearl together.

The third time was when Barbossa stole it again and fought Blackbeard. The fourth time was when Jack had gained it back in a bottle. Barbossa freed the ship from its tiny state, and he once again stole it from Jack. The Black Pearl was truly a magnificent ship to have pirates going back and forth with it.

1 The Sunset’s Fate

Since the Sunset isn’t used for the Black Pearl after At World’s End, it’s often wondered what they did with it. They couldn’t use the Sunset for the Black Pearl in On Stranger Tides because it was so small, so they instead used it for Queen Anne’s Revenge. Ever since Disney hasn’t used it to film another Pirates movie.

The Sunset has gone from place to place over the years. In 2013, it was spotted in Puerto Rico, and in 2014, Louisiana. It was most recently found in a shipyard, scrapped for parts. It’s a shame that this is what becomes of the real Black Pearl, but all things must, unfortunately, come to an end.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-facts-about-the-black-pearl-jack-sparrow-will-turner/