This movie is 20 years old and started one of the greatest adventure franchises in cinema

Jack Sparrow’s eccentricity, Will Turner’s courage and Elizabeth Swann’s determination are among the ingredients that make Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl the perfect adventure film that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year!

Pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) arrives in Port Royal and rescues Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of the local governor, from drowning. Despite this success, he still remains a pirate and is immediately hunted by the authorities. He accidentally takes refuge in a blacksmith shop where he meets Will Turner (Orlando Bloom).

Both are imprisoned and during the night Port Royal is attacked by the pirate Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Elizabeth is kidnapped. Will and Jack free themselves to rebuild the ship and give chase. And it is this pursuit that will mark the cinema of the 2000s.

Aside from its nostalgic effect for the generation that grew up with this film and its sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean remains a staple of the modern adventure film. Simply based on a Disney park attraction, it exudes this inimitable atmosphere with a cast and crew who take a project that is primarily meant to be entertainment very seriously.

And the bet is won! Even for those who haven’t seen the movie since its August 13, 2003 release, there are some memorable scenes like the hanging, the fight in the forge between Jack and Will, or the moment Elizabeth realizes she’s a ship full of immortals!

The film’s success was such that Disney launched – a little too quickly, as the director complained years later – two sequels shot simultaneously: The Cursed Chest (2006) and The End of the World (2007). Filming is very difficult, and Gore Verbinski, who directed three films in the franchise, is leaving the ship after the end of the trilogy.

Except that Disney wants to continue exploiting its goose that lays the golden eggs. For the fourth opus, The Fountain of Youth (2011), Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley (who for a long time felt trapped in the role of Elizabeth) are conspicuously absent. Other characters featured include Angelica (Penelope Cruz), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Philip Swift (Sam Claflin), Siren (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and Scrum (Stephen Graham).

does it work that much (yes!)

• Curse of the Black Pearl: $654.2 million worldwide

• Secret of the Cursed Chest: 1.06 billion

• To the end of the world: 960.9 million

• Fountain of Youth: 1.04 billion

• Salazar’s Revenge: 794.8 million

The fourth episode was a hit, the next one went into production but was slow to see the light of day. The first casting announcements were made in late 2014, and writers were hired again during 2016 to refine the script. The film was finally released in May 2017, but was not well received by critics and the press reported that Johnny Depp was unruly on set.

The film achieved a disappointing score compared to what Disney could have hoped for, but that doesn’t stop it from being discussed years later for a sixth adventure in the world of Jack Sparrow in 2025. The unanswered question is: Will his performer, Johnny Depp, be him? back?

Nothing has been decided at the moment and the film is blocked by the ongoing strike in Hollywood. The Flying Dutchman isn’t ready to go back to sea!