Summary
- Kaya Scodelario's contract for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 suggests a potential connection to earlier sequels, hinting at the future of the franchise.
- Scodelario's idea of an all-female pirate crew could bring a fresh perspective to the series and make her a perfect leader for the franchise.
- While Carina's return may not be enough to save the series on its own, it could provide a bridge between the original movies and the new film, lending a sense of legitimacy to the project.
Kaya Scodelario appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as Carina, a character who may return in the sixth Pirates movie, and her potential presence could connect the reboot to the franchise’s earlier sequels. The future of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is uncertain because though writer Craig Mazin tweeted that a script has been written, the ongoing WGA strike has halted production. No casting has been confirmed, but in 2017 Kaya Scodelario said she had a contract for Pirates 6 to reprise her role as Carina Smyth, so while the fate of the series remains unclear, this news could provide a clue to the future of the franchise going forward.
Scodelario said that she was contractually obliged to appear in the next Pirates of the Caribbean sequel and even shared her idea for how to keep the character of Carina around. The actor said she would "...like [to] see a Carina... have her own all-female pirate crew". A Pirates movie about an all-female crew was bandied around in the past, with a potential sequel led by Margot Robbie announced in 2020. However, conflicting reports between Robbie and producer Jerry Bruckheimer over this Pirates spinoff make it unclear whether it's moving forward. However, Robbie's project will not be the official sixth movie, meaning Kaya Scodelario could be the perfect person to lead the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and introduce a new kind of captain.
Who Is Kaya Scodelario’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Character Carina
The daughter of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Kaya Scodelario’s character was introduced in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. While Elizabeth and Will’s Pirates 5 cameo was a disappointment for many fans of the series, Carina’s storyline was hailed as one of the movie’s stronger subplots. A headstrong astronomer, the ambitious character begins the movie by being accused of witchcraft before she is saved by Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the course of one of his many misadventures.
In the ensuing story, she discovers her father is Barbossa before he sacrifices himself to kill Salazar (Javier Bardem). She is last seen paired off with fellow franchise newcomer Henry Turner (Brendon Thwaites). While Jack is the captain of the Black Pearl at the sequel’s close, this does not preclude Carina from starting her own crew, particularly since piracy runs in her blood.
How Carina Can Return In Pirates Of The Caribbean 6
The Pirates of the Caribbean series brought back characters as minor as the double-crossing British soldiers Murtogg and Mullroy in its early outings, and this gave the franchise a sense of scale and internal consistency. It was believable that the same characters would cross paths regularly, which gave the filmmakers a chance to utilize them in new settings. This makes Carina’s return all the more possible. Scodelario herself saying that she would love to see the character follow in her father’s footsteps and become the leader of a group of female pirates is a premise that could open up a new world of characters and themes to explore.
Why Carina’s Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Role Could Save The Series
The only news regarding the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 story comes from co-writer Craig Mazin's comments that, "It's too weird," not giving much more away. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has a loyal fanbase who have been left waiting a long time between movies and some fans may be hesitant about embracing a new character. By providing a bridge between the original movies and the new film, Carina’s presence in the sequel could lend a sense of legitimacy to the film, even if it is "weird".
Where something like Scream 2022 gained great reviews by largely dropping its existing characters and focusing on new arrivals, the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean’s reviews grew worse with the departure of Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) proves that the movies need a more consistent cast to impress fans and critics alike.
Why This Approach May Not Work For The Pirates Franchise
Although Kaya Scodelario’s return could lend some legitimacy to the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Carina's presence alone may not be enough to salvage the series. While she was in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Carina’s first appearance was in the last and worst film in the series. Thus, her presence may not mean much to fans if the sequel fails to bring Jack back. Whether or not Johnny Depp returns in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 will decide if fans consider the project worth engaging with, and a more minor character’s return is not likely to sway those uncertain about the new project’s potential.
Much like how bringing back Barbossa in On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales was not sufficient to stop those later sequels from receiving increasingly poor critical reception, Carina's return may not be successful either. If the goal is to sway fans of the earlier Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Carina is less likely to impress than someone like Billy Nighy’s Davy Jones or Knightley and Bloom.
Even those big names may not be enough to salvage the franchise, however, if Depp is not asked to return as Jack Sparrow. In recent installments, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise grew to rely more and more on Depp’s lovable layabout. Now, the series is unlikely to win back the crowd if it fails to facilitate his return; something that no amount of other established Pirates actors such as Kaya Scodelario will be likely to change.