Credit: Disney If there is one film franchise that has been in the Disney hot-seat as of late, it is Pirates of the Caribbean.
When Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came out in 2003, Disney did not anticipate that the film would do well. It was the first time the company made a film based on an attraction (not the other way around), and big actors like Robert De Niro even stepped away from the project, assuming that it would fail.
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Of course, five movies and a whole cult-following later, we know that the outcome was dramatically different than what Disney expected. Pirates of the Caribbean is arguably one of the most beloved franchises for many Disney fans, which is why the decision for Disney to remove Johnny Depp from the films due to the ongoing domestic violence allegations legal battle between Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard has struck a chord with so many.
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Losing Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean will surely shake up the franchise, as the rum-loving pirate was once an integral aspect of the film’s storyline. So, with Sparrow out, will we see any other characters come back in Pirates of the Caribbean 6?
Margot Robbie will reportedly take the helm of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 film. At the moment, we do not know much about the film, aside from Robbie seemingly wanting her character to be in the LGBTQ+ community, though nothing has been confirmed by Disney.
In the first film, we are introduced to James Norrington (Jack Davenport) as someone who served in the Royal Navy and then wanted to marry the Governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley). This put Norrington, Elizabeth, and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) in a love triangle, of sorts, although Elizabeth did not return his affections.
Norrington died in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007). Â However, Disney has brought back the character as a hallucination in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Aside from Disney possibly bringing back Norrington again in the future via hallucination, the franchise has characters both alive and dead that play major roles all the time. From Davy Jones to the crew of the Flying Dutchman, there could be room to explore a storyline where something happened that caused Norrington to rise from the dead.
That being said, considering we already know Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is looking to create its own new female-led cast, it seems unlikely that we could see Norrington return in Margot Robbie’s film. There is, however, another film in development as well that is meant to carry on the storyline from the first five films, which could see the return of Norrington.
Considering he is a character fans were introduced to in the first film, and many actors from the film are no longer involved in the franchise, bringing him back could be a smart move on Disney’s part to recall the nostalgia that the character brings and now represents.
Personally, I do not foresee his character taking a leading role in any future films. Still, since the Pirates of the Caribbean universe plays with characters both dead and alive, I think that any character can return with the right explanation.
Do you think James Norrington will ever return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise?Â