The first Pirates of the Caribbean film was a well-received summer blockbuster. However, with every sequel that has followed, the franchise has become more and more difficult to enjoy. The teaser for the newest entry does give us some hope that Dead Men Tell No Tales could be the reboot the franchise needs. Both what we see, and what we don't see, give us the impression that the new film is on the right the right track. Let's watch it one more time, as a refresher:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was a rough film, even for fans of the franchise. It took the story in a very different direction than the original trilogy, and while that may have seemed like a good idea at the time, it just didn't work out. Our first look at Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales feels like it's much more the story we'd like to see. Here's why we have hope for Pirates 5:
A Possible Return To Former, Important Locations
It's hard to know for sure, but the opening shots in the new teaser certainly seem to imply that some of the action is going to return to the Isle De La Muerte, a pivotal location from the original film. While the return of a location doesn't by itself mean that the quality of the film will be on par with that movie, it is certainly a sign that the movie is attempting to recapture that magic, rather than to, yet again, try to do something entirely different with the movies. As they say, write what you know.
Captain Salazar Is Terrifying
While we don't know a great deal about Javier Bardem's Captain Salazar, he certainly comes across as both menacing and spooky. As much humor as the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have had, they've also had some legitimately scary parts, and we're certainly getting that from Salazar. He's a bit like Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbosa from the first film, only creepier. His band of pirates are the kind we'd expect would kill us where we stand, as they do with most of the ships' crew. Besides Javier Bardem is a great actor, and we can't wait to see him take on our hero pirates.
Less Jack Sparrow Is A Good Thing
Certainly, we know that Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow will be a major part of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Having said that, not seeing him at all in this trailer gives us the distinct impression that Sparrow will not be the sole lead character of this movie.The one thing that On Stranger Tides taught us, above all else, is that Captain Jack Sparrow is best in smaller doses. Here it seems that Brenton Thwaites will be the film's lead character, playing a similar role to what Orlando Bloom did in the original trilogy. This is fitting, considering it appears that Thwaites is actually playing the son of Will Turner.
Stranger Tides Is Being Left Behind
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides thought it was embarking on a new trilogy, and so the film created new lore and left a number of plot threads open with an expectation that there would be a sequel. While that sequel is now here, it appears confirmed that it's not planning on dealing with the last movie in any way. Pirates 4 is looking like it's going be an orphan film that may never get dealt with. In general, we don't have a problem with that. If Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is as good as we want it to be, then they can make sequels to this one and leave the Stranger Tides out at sea.
