80 Fun Facts About Pirates of the Caribbean

Which producer is behind the whole Pirates of the Caribbean film series?

He was also the producer of Top Gun and Armageddon before turning a theme-park ride into a $4.5 billion franchise.

Who directed the first three films in the series?

He wanted to use modern technology to resurrect a genre that had vanished after Hollywood's Golden Age.

Which director, best known for the musical Chicago, took over for On Stranger Tides?

He was invited by Bruckheimer and Depp when the original director was unavailable.

Which screenwriting duo wrote the first four films?

The pair had already worked with Disney on Aladdin and Treasure Planet, and gave the pirate movie its supernatural edge.

Roughly how much has the franchise grossed worldwide across five films?

It was the first film franchise ever to produce two separate films that each passed $1 billion.

Depp famously modelled Jack Sparrow on which rock musician?

After researching 18th-century pirates, Depp decided they were the rock stars of their day.

Which Looney Tunes character did Depp also cite as an influence on Jack Sparrow?

The screenwriters had originally imagined the character as a Bugs Bunny or Groucho Marx-style supporting player.

What did baffled Disney executives ask about Depp's performance when they first saw it?

Depp held his ground, and the performance ended up earning him his first Oscar nomination.

The screenwriter of the earliest drafts says he created Jack Sparrow with which actor in mind?

Stuart Beattie's Jack was a nod to that actor's first name; the part of course went to Johnny Depp.

Which comedian was considered for Jack Sparrow but was tied up filming Bruce Almighty?

Bruckheimer initially pictured the character as 'a young Burt Lancaster, just the cocky pirate'.

Which flop from 2002 made Disney's Michael Eisner try to shut the first Pirates film down?

Eisner asked 'Why does it have to cost so much?' but was won over when he saw the concept art.

Which actor was first choice for the Black Pearl's mutinous captain but declined, expecting a flop?

Geoffrey Rush was the second choice; the actor who passed later played a pirate in Stardust anyway.

Who plays blacksmith Will Turner?

He read the script on Geoffrey Rush's suggestion, straight off the back of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Keira Knightley's character is the daughter of what official in Port Royal?

Her father is played by Jonathan Pryce, who was written into the climactic battle to keep him sympathetic.

Port Royal, the film's setting, is on which real island?

The real Port Royal was a notorious pirate haven until an earthquake sank much of it in 1692.

How many pieces of cursed Aztec gold are in the chest on Isla de Muerta?

The set builders put exactly that many coins in the cavern, along with five feet of water and gold-painted styrofoam rocks.

The cursed gold was originally paid to which conquistador?

The bribe was meant to stop his slaughter of the Aztecs; the gods cursed it instead.

Which navy ship do Jack and Will steal from Port Royal?

On screen it was a re-dressed Lady Washington, a replica tall ship that sailed 40 days from Washington state to reach the set.

Which real replica sailing ship was re-dressed to play the navy vessel Jack and Will steal?

She was fully repainted and made a 40-day voyage from Aberdeen, Washington to reach the location in January 2003.

The Curse of the Black Pearl was the first Disney-branded film to receive which MPAA rating?

The rating was for 'action/adventure violence'; every sequel has carried the same one.

Where was most of the first film's location shooting done?

The crew built three piers and a backlot there for Port Royal and the pirate port.

Who is credited as composer of the first film's score?

Zimmer was contractually tied up elsewhere, so he oversaw a team of 15 composers with the credited composer up front.

Which prize did Depp win for playing Jack Sparrow in the first film?

He was nominated for the other three but only took home the actors' union prize (and an MTV Movie Award).

What unusual body part does the pirate Ragetti keep losing?

Mackenzie Crook wore two different contact lenses for it: a soft one and a harder one for when it protrudes.

Who takes a coin from the cursed chest in the first film's post-credits scene?

The capuchin, named Jack after Sparrow, becomes undead again and stays that way for the rest of the series.

Complete Jack Sparrow's lament: 'Why is the ... gone?'

Elizabeth burned it, along with the shade, to send up a signal fire from the island.

Norrington dismisses Jack as the worst pirate he knows of. Jack's reply?

He then delivers his signature line: 'This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.'

According to the captain of the cursed Black Pearl, the pirate's Code is more what you'd call ...

He also points out that you have to be a pirate for the Code to apply, and Elizabeth is not.

Which one-word question does Jack Sparrow habitually tack onto the end of his sentences?

He uses it while explaining that he can't crew a ship 'all by me onsie'.

Where do Jack and Will go to recruit a crew, meeting Joshamee Gibbs?

The real place was a lawless pirate haven off Hispaniola in the 1600s.

Who plays the Flying Dutchman's tentacled captain in Dead Man's Chest?

He wore a motion-capture tracksuit on set; Jim Broadbent, Iain Glen and Richard E. Grant were also met for the role.

What accent did Nighy choose for the Flying Dutchman's captain?

He said he needed 'an accent no one else had' and was influenced by the sitcom Still Game.

Which member of the Flying Dutchman's crew was played by a real actor in make-up rather than CGI?

Stellan Skarsgård spent four hours in the make-up chair and was nicknamed 'Bouillabaisse' on set.

What did Jack receive from the Dutchman's captain in exchange for a debt of 100 years of service?

He got 13 years as captain, and when the bill came due Bootstrap marked him with the Black Spot.

What is the name of the obeah priestess played by Naomie Harris?

Harris filmed all her scenes at weekends while shooting Miami Vice during the week.

Lord Cutler Beckett is chairman of which organisation?

Tom Hollander's villain arrives at Will and Elizabeth's wedding with arrest warrants.

In what game does Will learn that the Dutchman's captain holds the key to the chest?

His father Bootstrap deliberately loses to spare Will an eternity of service.

The cannibal-island scenes in Dead Man's Chest were shot on which Caribbean island?

The 500-strong crew occupied around 90 percent of the island's roads, which the government was not prepared for.

What was the only Academy Award Dead Man's Chest won?

It had four nominations; the same team also took a BAFTA and six Visual Effects Society awards.

How quickly did Dead Man's Chest reach $1 billion worldwide, a record at the time?

It was only the third film ever to reach the mark, after Titanic and The Return of the King, and the first from Disney.

What was Dead Man's Chest's record-setting US opening weekend gross?

It went on to be the top-grossing film of 2006 and stayed the biggest of the series.

What was used for the moment the Kraken spits on Jack Sparrow?

The Kraken itself was hard to animate until the crew was told to watch King Kong vs. Godzilla.

How is the resurrected captain of the Black Pearl reintroduced at the end of Dead Man's Chest?

His first-film wish had been to taste an apple again once the curse was lifted.

At World's End had what production budget, the biggest ever at the time?

Its predecessor had opened bigger, but this one still passed $960 million worldwide.

Which Hong Kong star plays Pirate Lord Sao Feng?

About ten minutes of his footage were cut from the version shown in mainland China.

Which rock star plays Captain Teague, Jack Sparrow's father?

He is Keeper of the Pirata Codex; the casting was a nod to the man Depp had modelled Jack on all along.

How many Pirate Lords convene the Brethren Court at Shipwreck Cove?

They are summoned by condemned prisoners singing 'Hoist the Colours', a song Verbinski co-wrote with Hans Zimmer.

Who becomes Pirate King in At World's End?

The vote goes her way after Jack breaks the deadlock, and only a Pirate King can declare war.

Which sea goddess did the first Brethren Court bind in human form?

Her lover's betrayal is why he carved out his own heart and locked it in a chest.

Once Will becomes captain of the Dutchman, how long may he spend ashore before ten years at sea?

He leaves Elizabeth with the chest holding his heart, and the post-credits scene jumps forward a decade to show her with their son.

On Stranger Tides was loosely based on a 1987 novel by which author?

The writers discovered the book while making the second and third films and borrowed Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth and mermaids from it.

Who plays Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides?

He had earlier been considered for the Flying Dutchman's captain before that part went elsewhere.

What did the costume department have to accommodate for Penélope Cruz during On Stranger Tides?

Her sister Mónica doubled for her in risky scenes; her husband later played the villain in the next film.

The Fountain of Youth ritual needs two silver chalices from the ship of which explorer?

His ship, the Santiago, is found perched on a cliff, but the Spanish have already taken the cups.

Which Dame has a carriage cameo opposite Jack Sparrow in On Stranger Tides?

Depp also recommended Richard Griffiths for King George II because he loved Withnail and I.

What ship does Geoffrey Rush's character captain as a privateer in On Stranger Tides?

He has a peg leg by now, having cut off his own leg to escape Blackbeard's attack on the Pearl.

Which US state hosted On Stranger Tides' tropical location shoot?

Strong tides at Halona Cove drove the Whitecap Bay mermaid scenes back to a Universal Studios backlot.

Under what alternative title was the fifth film released in the UK and Australia?

The directors said nobody had told them about the retitling.

Who plays the ghostly Captain Armando Salazar?

He built the character on 'a rage based on dented pride' after Jack trapped him in the Devil's Triangle.

Carina Smyth is sentenced to death for witchcraft because of which profession?

Kaya Scodelario said her character was fighting for the right to study at university, which women could not do at the time.

Which pirate is revealed to be Carina's father?

The revelation comes during the voyage, and it costs him his life at the climax.

Which Beatle appears as Jack Sparrow's Uncle Jack in Dead Men Tell No Tales?

He was Depp's pick after Jack's screen father from the third film was unavailable, and the character is named after McCartney's own uncle.

Where was Dead Men Tell No Tales filmed in its entirety?

The government offered $20 million in tax incentives, making it the largest production ever shot in the country.

Whose silhouette in the fifth film's post-credits scene surprised even the actor who played him?

Bill Nighy said he had not been informed the character was coming back at all.

Who plays Henry Turner, son of Will and Elizabeth, in the fifth film?

Disney chose the Australian over the other three, and Sam Keeley and Mitchell Hope too.

In what year did the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride open at Disneyland?

It was the last ride Walt Disney personally helped design, opening three months after his death.

What was the Disneyland attraction originally planned to be?

The boat-ride format was borrowed after It's a Small World proved a hit at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

What is the name of the pirate galleon that bombards the fort in the ride?

Its captain is modelled on Blackbeard and voiced by Paul Frees, who voices several other figures too.

Which Imagineer designed the chess-playing skeletons gag for the Magic Kingdom version?

He was one of Walt's original core animators before turning to theme park design.

Which Disney park got a completely different ride, 'Battle for the Sunken Treasure', in 2016?

Unlike the classic ride, its storyline is built directly on the films.

In the ride's updated auction scene, what has the famous redhead become?

The original 'Take a Wench for a Bride' auction was rewritten at Disneyland, Paris and the Magic Kingdom.

Which Norwegian directing duo helmed Dead Men Tell No Tales?

The pair confirmed the title in August 2013; it alludes to a line from the theme-park ride.

Who wrote the screenplay for the fifth film after Terry Rossio's draft was discarded?

Nathanson's script featured the Trident of Poseidon, loosely based on Rossio's Trident of Neptune.

Rossio said his fifth-film script was dropped partly because Depp feared its female villain would echo which film?

Rossio later published the unused screenplay, with extensive footnotes, on his website Wordplay.

Who plays Governor Weatherby Swann, an actor Depp is said to have idolised?

Tom Wilkinson was among several actors negotiated with for the part before it went to Pryce.

Which two films outgrossed The Curse of the Black Pearl in North America in 2003?

Worldwide it was fourth, also trailing The Matrix Reloaded.

At World's End set which North American box-office record on release?

Dead Man's Chest took the opening-weekend record and On Stranger Tides the opening-weekend record outside North America.

How many Academy Awards did the first three films win between them from 11 nominations?

Across all five films the series also earned two Golden Globe nominations, winning neither.

Who plays the mermaid Syrena in On Stranger Tides?

Sam Claflin played the missionary Philip Swift who falls for her, and Richard Griffiths played King George II.

The 2011 short Tales of the Code: Wedlocked was shot in three days on which recycled set?

Director James Ward Byrkit rushed it through before the At World's End sets were demolished in late 2006.