Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario have been discussing the future of their characters within the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth installment in Disney's hugely popular franchise, seeing the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa. New characters also join the fray, including Javier Bardem as Captain Salazar, Thwaites as Henry Turner, and Scodelario as Carina Smyth.
Henry and Carina are very much being set up as a modern take on Elizabeth and Will Turner (Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, respectively), and indeed, Henry is their son. Elizabeth and Will's romance was the secondary plotline in The Curse of the Black Pearl, just as Henry and Carina's is in Dead Men Tell No Tales. The two characters butt heads repeatedly, clashing over everything from fundamental decisions, to the tiny, nit-picky details. Directors Espen Sandberg, Joachim Rønning have drawn on the first Pirates movie, Curse of the Black Pearl, for inspiration, which potentially means that instead of Dead Men Tell No Tales finishing the Pirates franchise, it could, in fact, be opening it up for even more movies to come.
Speaking to Screen Rant during the press tour for Dead Men Tell No Tales, Thwaites and Scodealrio discussed what they'd like to see for their characters in the future, if Pirates 6 does happen. For Thwaites, it would be a focus on Henry's family relationships, particularly with his father:
"I haven’t really thought about it. I would like to see him explore relationships with his family a little bit more. I mean, that theme of family has been carried from the first movies and I really liked that. I think there’s a lot of room for relationship exploration with Carina. It’s a funny relationship where they like each other, but they are constantly butting heads and disagreeing and I think there’s an opportunity for comedy and, you know, the start for a whole new journey for those guys."
Meanwhile, Scodelario says she would like to see more time given to the exploration of Carina's scientific beliefs; something that is at odds with the usual Pirate culture:
"I would really like to see her explore more of her scientific beliefs. Yeah and kind of, you know, incorporate that into the pirate world and find the link between the fantasy and the science. I think that could be really interesting."
No continuation of the Pirates franchise is confirmed, as yet, but if Dead Men Tells No Tales doesn't sink at the box office, it seems likely Disney will certainly try to make at least one more. Jerry Bruckheimer says there's always more stories to be told, but he also says that no Pirates movie would be worth making without Depp as Jack Sparrow.
Dead Men Tell No Tales feels as though it could either be the end of the franchise or a new beginning; that is to say, we feel as though the original characters stories are neatly tied up, but there is certainly the potential to see Carina and Will carry the story on. Thwaites and Scodealrio's comments certainly seem like viable options to explore, coupled with a good pirate tale at the heart of the movie, of course. In particular, Carina's heritage would be an interesting story to pursue. It remains to be seen whether more of the original cast, such as Bloom, would decide to return.
