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Did Keira Knightley think Pirates of the Caribbean was a mistake? (Photo Credit – Facebook)

Keira Knightley didn’t have an effortless road to fame. Before playing Elizabeth Swann, she was just another young actor pursuing success. She had some films, like Bend It Like Beckham, but wasn’t well-known yet. Then Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl altered that.

But Knightley wasn’t persuaded it was a suitable idea. In fact, she thought it might be a total disaster. Yes, even though it was one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history, and she almost passed on it. Of course, she had her reasons. Back then, pirate movies weren’t exactly a guaranteed hit, and this one had a massive budget riding on a concept that could have flopped. But as we all know now, it did the exact opposite.

Before Pirates, Knightley was already on the industry’s radar,...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is packed with a score of characters who more than deserve their own Disney Plus show.

The MCU franchise has been known for a lot of great supporting characters. Some are drawn from the comics, while others are more original, but they all shine nicely, adding to the narrative in ways that are often unexpected. Some are able to rise up thanks to the actors, while others sadly don’t get the attention they should. Thankfully, with Disney Plus expanding the horizons of the shared universe with so many new TV shows over the past few years, there are more opportunities for folks to rise up and get some of that long-overdue spotlight.

It’s tricky to decide which ones would thrive in that spotlight, however, as some characters really are better when they aren't the main focus. We loved Luis in the Ant-Man movies, but...

Welcome to this review of Aew’s latest pay-per-view World’s End, which closed All Elite’s Wrestling 2024 with some shocks and surprises… The show, which took place ate the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, opened with Zero Hour which saw Toni Storm defeat Leila Grey, Jeff Jarrett defeat Qt Marshall, Lio Rush & Action Andretti win an 8-man tag against The Outrunners, Murder Machines and Top Flight.

Match #1: Aew Continental Classic Semifinal Match – Will Ospreay def. Kyle Fletcher The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Ospreay dodged a charging Fletcher as the bell rang. Will went for an Os-Cutter but Fletcher blocked it. Both men showed how well they know each other in the early goings in this human game of chess. Fletcher nailed Will with a cross chop against the windpipe. Ospreay took down Fletcher with a cannonball dive off the apron. Fletcher kicked the taste...

Did Orlando Bloom reject Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? ( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Despite the franchise making bank and topping $1 billion, Orlando Bloom wasn’t feeling On Stranger Tides. Instead, he wanted to chase different adventures. “I just really wanted to do different things,” Bloom explained to MTV News in 2010. “But I think it’s going to be great.” Classic Orlando, right?

Now, before you start assuming drama, it wasn’t anything juicy behind the scenes. Bloom wasn’t fighting with Johnny Depp or hashing out contract drama. Nope. He just felt like Will Turner had sailed his course. “I had a great time making those movies,” he added, casually mentioning that Will was probably “swimming around with the fish at the bottom of the ocean.” If that’s not a pirate-level exit line, I don’t know what is.

The Pirates franchise had already hit it big by...

Although the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had plenty of intriguing supporting stars, one Dead Man's Chest character proves that the sequels often wasted these under-utilized figures. Anyone who has seen the frustrating Pirates of the Caribbean sequels can attest to the franchise’s missteps. The later sequels lightened the tone of the series, losing the horror-centric edge of the original blockbuster, and made Jack Sparrow the star of the franchise. Although Johnny Depp’s antihero was an iconic character in small doses, his ascendancy to main character status drained his charm of its novelty and made him a tiresome, over-exposed leading man.

Related Dead Man's Chest Defined Pirates of the Caribbean's Later Sequel Problems

Dead Man's Chest may not be the most disliked Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but the sequel set up the traps that later, lesser outings fell into.

However, a glance at the many villains...

Will Turner wants to take control of the Black Pearl near the climax of Dead Man’s Chest, but the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel never explains why he requires the vessel in the sequel. The Pirates of the Caribbean sequels all have their own unique problems, but 2006’s Dead Man’s Chest is mostly bogged down by complexity. There is no denying that its 2007 follow-up, At World’s End, also features a complicated story, but that movie’s downbeat ending is its biggest issue. In contrast, a convoluted storyline is the primary problem Dead Man’s Chest faces.

Related Pirates Of The Caribbean 6: Confirmation & Everything We Know

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is in development, but there's still no release date. Here are all the details so far about Pirates of the Caribbean 6.

Where 2003's original Pirates of the Caribbean was admirable for its simplicity, Dead Man...

Margot Robbie's Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off will likely feature more female characters, and The Curse of the Black Pearl has already set up the perfect story for that with just one line. Of all five Pirates of the Caribbean movies, none has featured more than two main female characters, and most of them have had similar storylines. The Pirates of the Caribbean villains have been some of the best characters in the franchise, so Margot Robbie's spin-off offers some interesting possibilities for female antagonists.

While few details have been confirmed, it has been rumored that Margot Robbie's Pirates of the Caribbean movie will feature an all-female pirate crew. As Margot Robbie's best movies often feature stories about well-written and flawed female characters, this may not come as a surprise. If Robbie's film intends to explain the previous movies' lack of female characters, one element that the original Pirates of the Caribbean...

As Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has been confirmed to be a reboot, it will have the opportunity to break a trend that has let the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise down for its past five movies. Pirates of the Caribbean was based on a Disney ride, which may not sound like a successful premise, but the franchise became incredibly popular and there are now five Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Part of the movie franchise's success was undoubtedly Johnny Depp's iconic character, Captain Jack Sparrow, but there were many other exciting main characters in Pirates of the Caribbean.

The movie franchise has given viewers some unforgettable antiheroes and villains, like Bill Nighy's octopus-headed captain Davy Jones, one of the best villains in Pirates of the Caribbean. The plots for the movies became more complicated over time, with different dimensions and even the sea goddess Calypso appearing as a central villain.

Penlope Cruz joined up with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for the fourth installment, but she was notably absent from the following film. The actor had played Angelica in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the daughter of Black Beard and an old flame of Captain Jack Sparrow's. She was an intriguing, likable, and somewhat tragic character who fit right in with the morally ambiguous pirates of the overall franchise. It really seemed as if Cruz's Pirates of the Caribbean character was being set up as a franchise regular. However, she only appeared in this one movie.

The last Angelica was seen in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, she was mourning the death of Black Beard, whom Jack had tricked her into killing. Cruz's character clearly wasn't happy about this, but her life was, ultimately, more worthy of saving than her villainous father'sespecially since...

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 needs a major change to succeed, with the franchise's past successes not guaranteeing future box office hits. Simplifying the story and reducing CGI could reinvigorate the series, focusing on classic pirate elements like swords, treasure, and ships. Rebooting with a new central character and smaller scale conflicts could bring back the charm of the original film and revitalize the franchise.

Pirates of the Caribbean has been one of Disney's most profitable movie franchises, but if Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is going to be a successful reboot, then it needs to represent a major change from the other franchise sequels. Collectively, the franchise has been one of the greatest successes in the history of American cinema, with a total box office gross over $4.5 billion. Two of the sequels, Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides, managed to break $1 billion at the box office on their own,...

Disney should consider a young Jack Sparrow TV series to explore his backstory, similar to Indiana Jones. The prequel could delve into Sparrow's birth, childhood, and how he became the notorious pirate fans know. Disney+ has a history of producing franchise-related TV shows, making a Pirates of the Caribbean series a promising option.

The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is confusing, let alone the status of Jack Sparrow's return, but Disney has already come up with the best way to bring the character back. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl premiered in 2003 and stars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, a notorious pirate who helps Orlando Bloom's Will Turner rescue Kiera Knightley's Elizabeth Swann from the pirates on the Black Pearl. Following The Curse of the Black Pearl's release, Depp's performance as Sparrow was highly praised and became one of the actor's most renowned roles.

The Sandman is Morpheus, also known as Dream of the Endless. And the Endless never end, right? I mean, it’s right there in the name.

Yet, with the show’s latest casting announcement, it’s clear that producers of the Netflix series The Sandman have the end in mind. The latest characters to appear in the series include some major players in Neil Gaiman‘s climactic tale World’s End, including Morpheus’s son Orpheus, Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Norse gods Loki, Thor, and Odin.

Orpheus will be played by Ruairi O’Connor, best known for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Morning Show. Comic book readers know Orpheus as the son of Morpheus and Calliope, the muse kidnapped by insecure writers in the episode bearing her name. Newcomers to the Sandman story were struck at how cruelly Morpheus treated Calliope, and...

Welcome to this review of Aew’s latest pay-per-view World’s End, which closed All Elite’s Wrestling with some shocks and surprises… Let’s see what went down live from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York!

Zero Hour Match #1: Willow Nightingale def. Kris Statlander The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Willow connected with a crossbody press off the middle rope for a near fall. Willow followed up with a running clothesline and then flipped off the apron, landing on Statlander. Back in the ring, Statlander applied the pressure with body scissors. Willow got to her feet and scored with a kick to Kris. Willow nailed Kris with a massive spinebuster for a two-count. Kris hoisted Willow up on her shoulders and planted her on her face. Willow fired back with a running pounce! Willow cannonballed Kris in the corner and followed up with a...

It’s Monday Tuesday (we took Mon off for New Years!) so you know what that means, it’s time for our weekly review of Aew: Rampage! This week’s show – a New Year’s Smash special – was broadcast from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida and featured Excalibur and Tony Schiavone on commentary. Now let’s get to the review…

Match #1: Ruby Soho def. Marina Shafir The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Ruby dodged a kick from Marina and then grabbed Marina by the hair, pulling her down to the mat. Marina fired back with vicious kicks. Harley grabbed at Marina’s leg and Ruby tripped Marina, taking advantage of the distraction. Marina smashed Ruby with a running lariat. She followed up with a backbreaker to Ruby. Marina dropkicked Ruby. Saraya jumped onto the ring apron, but Nyla yanked her down. Harley flung herself onto Nyla’s back,...

Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow was the main focus of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, potentially limiting the franchise's expansion. The series missed opportunities to explore the lore of the Nine Pirate Lords and the comedic duo Pintel and Ragetti through spinoffs. A spinoff exploring the world of Pirates of the Caribbean, including the Fountain of Youth and Tortuga, could have provided more depth and context to the series.

The popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has long since peaked, but Disney failed to capitalize on its heyday with spinoffs that could have expanded its universe. Pirate movies have historically been box office disasters, as evidenced by both 1995’s Cut-throat Island and 1982’s Pirates. Despite this, The Curse of the Black Pearl became a huge box office hit, and the series soon became one of Hollywood’s hottest franchises. The ensuing sequels weren’t as well-received critically,...

The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End, each associated with a different flavor of Cornetto ice cream cone. The choice of ice cream flavor aligns with the genre of each film, with strawberry for horror, vanilla for buddy cop action, and mint for alien invasion. While a fourth Cornetto movie could be a gangster film, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have confirmed they are moving on to new projects outside the Cornetto trilogy.

The three movies that make up Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy remain the filmmaker's most popular releases, and a fourth installment could follow suit with a specific genre aligning with another ice cream flavor. The trilogy consists of 2004's Shaun of the Dead, 2007's Hot Fuzz, and 2013's The World's End, all of them co-written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two is the eighth installment in the blockbuster action franchise, with many of the beloved cast members from previous movies returning to reprise their iconic roles and celebrate the conclusion of this long-running narrative. In spite of all the action and spectacle, the Mission: Impossible franchise has always put its characters first, blending high-stakes action filmmaking with more intimate, powerful subplots about love and friendship. The story of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two pays off plenty of these narrative threads by bringing back the majority of the existing cast, making it the most exciting project in the franchise by a long shot.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two follows international espionage agent Ethan Hunt on his riskiest and most dangerous adventure yet, relying on the support of his closest friends and allies. As always, it’s Tom Cruise’s performance as...

Clockwise from top left: Alien: Resurrection (20th Century Fox), Fast & Furious 6 (Universal Pictures); Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker (Lucasfilm); Kingsman: The Golden Circle (20th Century Studios); Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (Paramount Pictures)Graphic: The A.V. Club

There are lots of great things about fictional characters,...

Simon Pegg revealed that he hid his struggles with alcoholism while working on Mission: Impossible III, alongside Tom Cruise.

The actor said on a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, via the Guardian, that “you become very sneaky when you have something like that [alcoholism] in your life.” He admitted that he hid a lot while working on film sets in the early 2000s.

The World’s End actor explained that he first started battling mental health issues as a teen, and then the feelings returned in 2006 while filming the J.J. Abrams-directed movie. Pegg recalled using alcohol to help get him through the emotional pain he was facing, but in 2009, the birth of his daughter forced him to seek recovery.

“You learn how to do it without anyone noticing because it takes over. It wants to sustain itself and it will do everything it can to not be stopped,...

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is at something of a standstill, but instead of a sixth film, its best future might be a TV series. After the poor performance of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the probable loss of star Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, the way forward for the Disney property has been unclear. Returning to tell a new story in the world of Pirates could feel disjointed in the form of a feature film. However, many of the franchise's most significant problems could be fixed with a Disney+ series instead.

The first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies chronologically told a cohesive story, and it was one that audiences adored. Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swan, and Will Turner - joined by several other memorable pirates - made for a winning group of characters that audiences were willing to return to film after film.

Throughout the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Captain Jack Sparrow's character arc focused significantly on his search for immortality — perhaps for too long. Jack Sparrow was the kind of character that wanted to be virtually untouchable — the best pirate there had ever been. However, time and time again, Sparrow learned that the cost of immortality far outweighed the benefits. He seemed to come to this realization at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, but the plots of subsequent films entirely wasted that progress.

When Jack Sparrow was introduced in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, he was working on getting his ship back from Captain Hector Barbossa, who had mutinied to chase after the Pirates of the Caribbean nautical legend of the Aztec Treasure of Cortés. Jack himself had been the one to discover the gold's location, and he...

Warning: this article contains mild spoilers for Three Day Millionaire

British heist comedy Three Day Millionaire just arrived on Netflix, and it’s certainly an entertaining watch. Part poignant Full Monty-style working class identity crisis, part Guy-Ritchie-esque geezer flick, it tells the story of a group of young trawlermen who lose everything when the Grimsby fishing industry finally folds, so they decide to pull off a daring robbery to secure the money they need to shore up their futures.

The convincing premise to this 2022 Britcom – starring Corrie’s James Burrows, Sam Glen (World’s End) and impressive newcomer Michael Kinsey – naturally makes us wonder how much of it is based on a true story.

The answer? Well, not the heist itself, at least.

But you might be surprised at some of the real details used in the film:

The Grimsby Fishing Industry Really Did Fold Overnight

‘You know, it really did die overnight,...

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales brought Will Turner back to the franchise, but his physical transformation made no sense. The last time audiences saw him, Will was the new captain of the Flying Dutchman and was therefore cursed to only return to land every 10 years. After that first decade, he looked much the same as when he departed from Elizabeth. However, when his son, Henry, came to find him only a few years later in Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Will's appearance had changed drastically.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Captain Jack Sparrow used Will's hand to stab Davy Jones' heart. This served a dual purpose: it killed the tentacled villain and saved Will from the sword in his own heart since he would then become the new, immortal captain of Pirates of the Caribbean's Flying Dutchman. Once Will had officially taken on the mantle,...

We were already sold on “Truth Seekers” when it was announced last year — reuniting Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on television for the first time since “Spaced” ended is all you had to say. But now we finally have a closer look at the upcoming Amazon Prime comedy and we can safely say we were right to be fully aboard sight unseen.

The first trailer dropped on Thursday during the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel, which featured series creators and writers Frost, Pegg, Nat Saunders, and James Serafinowicz. Watch it above now.

The eight-episode supernatural comedy stars Frost and Pegg alongside Samson Kayo, Emma D’Arcy, Susan Wokoma and the great Malcolm McDowell and focuses on a team of paranormal investigators who stumble on a vast conspiracy with apocalyptic implications. It’s familiar territory for Pegg and Frost, who in addition to “Spaced” starred together in a string of hit comedies...

Anyone with even a passing interest in the buddy movie genre has likely seen Hot Fuzz, the second installment in Edgar Wright’s so-called Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy. Arriving between Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End, the movie is arguably the most accessible of the three given that it riffs on the familiar cliches and tropes of countless action films that most people have seen a thousand times before.

Not only was it the most successful of the trilogy, earning more at the box office than the other two installments combined, but it was also the only one that seemed to lend itself to the possibility of sequels, and the idea of more adventures for Simon Pegg’s Nicholas Angel and Nick Frost’s Danny Butterman would only further the notion that the whole thing is a send-up of Hollywood’s fascination with action-driven franchises.

Every now and...