Here's why Keith Richards was replaced by Paul McCartney for Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Pirates Of The Caribbean was a popular Disney ride but it took years for it to become a movie. The main issue for the project getting a greenlight is that movies about pirates were once considered box-office poison, as seen by high-profile flops like 1996's Cutthroat Island. The project was once so low on the Disney totem pole that a straight to video version starring Christopher Walken as Jack Sparrow was seriously considered. A big-budget version was eventually greenlit, though the studio was still concerned by star Johnny Depp's odd performance, which was famously inspired by Rolling Stone rocker Keith Richards.
Of course, Pirates Of The Caribbean became an enormous success, with Depp's performance being praised. The cast and crew were quickly reassembled for sequels Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, which were shot back to back. They received mixed reviews for their muddled storylines and bloated length, though they once again raked in money. Rob Marshall helmed fourth entry Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011, which was another case of weak reviews doing little to dissuade audiences from returning for Captain Jack's latest misadventure.
The most recent entry was 2017's Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This involved Jack on the run from Javier Bardem's ghostly, vengeance-seeking pirate. Fans of the series will remember the very meta casting of Keith Richards in the third movie as pirate Captain Teague, Jack's father. Richards returned once again for the fourth movie, and while a de-aged version of Teague briefly returns for Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tells No Tales, Richards himself didn't actually return.
While Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales directors Joaquim Rønning and Espen Sandberg had written a scene for Teague, Keith Richards was busy with touring commitments with The Rolling Stones. The directors decided they needed another famous musician to play a new member of Jack's family, and settled upon The Beatles' Paul McCartney as their top choice; apparently, giving his commitment was as simple as having Johnny Depp text him personally.
While the marketing emphasized Paul McCartney's part in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, his role is disappointingly brief. He plays Sparrow's Uncle Jack and the pair run into each other during a prison scene. Jack sings and plays cards, tells a gag involving a skeleton and then Jack Sparrow is quickly dragged away by guards. For what its worth, McCartney is fun in the scene, but it probably would have worked better if his cameo hadn't been spoiled in the marketing.