Disney+ Finally Offers Complete Fan-Favorite Movie Franchise Available for Streaming
Disney+ is finally offering the complete collection of a fan-favorite movie franchise, and subscribers will be thrilled about it. ComicBook.com reports that every Pirates of the Caribbean film to date are now streaming on Disney+. The franchise stars Johnny Depp as the charmingly lush Captain Jack Sparrow and also features A-list actors such as Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Penélope Cruz, and Javier Bardem.
The franchise kicked off back in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Depp earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as Captain Jack and went on to reprise it in four more films: Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). The film series saw its critical success dwindle over time, but audiences continued to turn out for the movies in droves. The franchise has earned a collective $1.452 billion at the box office, with Dead Man's Chest earning the most at over $420 million. However, in 2018 it was reported that, while Disney plans to bring the franchise back, Depp will not be returning as Captain Jack.
"I think he's had a great run. Obviously, he's made that character his own and it's become the character he's most famous for now," screenwriter Stuart Beattie previously told the Daily Mail. "And kids all over the world love him as that character so I think it's been great for him, it's been great for us, so I'm just very, very happy about it."
"I think Jack Sparrow will be his legacy. It's the only character he's played five times, it's the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it's what he'll be remembered for," Beattie added of Depp. "Before Jack Sparrow came along, [Depp] was considered this kind of quirky, independent actor that made these really cool little Tim Burton films, but he was by no means a movie star and a lot of people thought we were crazy for casting him at the time."
Interestingly, Digital Spy reported in 2017 that Pirates of the Caribbean executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer stated that the franchise would not continue without Depp as Jack Sparrow. "I just don't see it," he said when asked if Depp would be written out or recast. "The secret to any successful franchise is picking talented people, and Johnny is absolutely key to the success of [Pirates of the Caribbean]. He's such a unique character, such an endearing character, and such an irreverent character all in one."