The Character Change That Led To The Pirates Of Caribbean Franchise's Demise
In 2003, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise made history with "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" as the very first PG-13 Walt Disney film (via Forbes) and quickly became a significant success. Based on the Disney Parks' favorite ride of the same name, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies were instant Disney classics, and the series now includes a total of five films.
The series makes for an adventurous and creative journey that features many characters, such as Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swan (Kiera Knightley), but without question, the central attraction was always the life of the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), as he and his companions sail the ocean and face off against everything from the cursed undead to malicious government officials. It's no doubt that the interactions between the characters helped make these movies as popular as they are today. The perfectly placed quirks, collaboration, and backstories make each character unique and a blast to watch. However, as with any multi-movie franchise, things can change ... and sometimes not always for the better.
The way that one character evolved, in particular, is responsible for a lot of fans developing a dislike for "Pirates of the Caribbean" altogether.
Fans were not happy with the changes to Captain Jack Sparrow
In a Reddit thread started by U/James007BondUK, which asked other fans if the much-derided "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels were really as awful as they're cracked up to be, led to a discussion about why many fans do dislike these movies, and an assessment of what went wrong with them. While there are many factors at play, a few users shared the same opinion regarding the change in Captain Jack Sparrow's personality.
One user points out that Jack actually "devolved" as a character, also saying, "He also actually did things in the first couple of films, whereas in the later ones (especially the fifth one) he does nothing besides drink and crack jokes." Another user, U/wishiwascooltoo, agreed and added that it's just too difficult for the writers to keep up with the original cunning of Captain Jack Sparrow, arguing that "it's mostly his own cleverness and planning 4 steps ahead that gets him out of trouble...That kind of cleverness is difficult to write, and they couldn't maintain the magic for the entire trilogy."
In essence, this meant that Jack Sparrow went from being a nonchalant but secretly brilliant pirate to being an actually bumbling goofball, and this let fans of the series down in the end — while chipping away at the legacy of the legendary character who made "Pirates of the Caribbean" so beloved in the first place. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to see the original version of the character return, Johnny Depp has ruled out doing a future Jack Sparrow appearance.