Fourth "Pirates" film sounds unoriginal

By

Created:
09/13/09 7:52pm

Last updated:
09/22/09 8:48pm

No comments

Imagine you’re attending D23 Expo, Disney’s fan convention where news and previews flood in by the minute. Imagine your initial delight, seeing Johnny Depp strut out onto the stage, fully clad in his Capt. Jack Sparrow attire. And now, the announcement, straight from Capt. Jack’s lips: “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” the fourth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, will be released in 2011. The crowd goes wild.

I don’t understand why everyone wants a fourth “Pirates” movie. First off, we all know the second and third films were sorry excuses for Disney to bank off of a solid first entry. Secondly, a fourth installment will probably mean the beginning of a new “Pirates” story line. After all, does anyone really care about Will Turner or Commodore Norrington? I certainly don’t, and I think Disney knows this.

And now we get to the title: “On Stranger Tides” — not the most intriguing thing I’ve ever heard. Coincidentally, there’s a novel with the same name by Tim Powers. The novel, which features the infamous Blackbeard as a villain, features the “Fountain of Youth” as a major part of the plot. Barbossa and Jack Sparrow mention a search for the “Fountain of Youth” at the end of the third “Pirates” installment, “At World’s End,” so it appears the fourth “Pirates” will borrow from Powers’ novel. Is Disney that desperate? When there isn’t an intriguing story to tell and you have to borrow from preexisting material to continue a franchise, it’s a good sign not to continue the franchise.

Having recently purchased Marvel Comics for about $4 billion dollars, maybe Disney will have Barbossa and Sparrow face off against Dr. Doom and Magneto for the fifth film. It’s time to create something original.

Commentary

Add your $0.02, go to the comment form or follow the comment feed

About The State of Cinema

Intern Carter Moulton shares his film reviews, general news and other movie musings, to tell you which films to check out and which ones aren’t worth the popcorn.

Follow this blog in your feed reader

FEATURED CLASSIFIEDS: More classifieds »

In Employment:

In Services:

SEND VOCALISTS to your Valentine.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:More reprints »

A firework display shimmers and shines above Cooley Law School Stadium Sunday night after the Lansing ...
Florence Welch, lead singer of London-based indie group Florence and the Machine, throws up a sign of ...
As deconstruction of the MSC smokestack continues, bricks pile up at the foot of the once iconic MSU ...
Paige Triezenberg, a global and area studies senior, uses a small trowel to clear dirt around an animal ...
Bournville, England resident Trevor Workman plays the carillon for the first Muelder Summer Carillon ...