Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Director Abandoned on "World's Most Dangerous Island" - Inside the Magic

One infamous Pirates of the Caribbean director was left abandoned on the most dangerous Caribbean island on purpose by his crew, making the movie plot a little to real for the one who was orchestrating the whole thing.

While Disney has had many successful franchises in the Star Wars and Marvel realms, one of the most successful, and non-acquired IPs came from Pirates of the Caribbean. The story of Pirates of the Caribbean is one that Walt Disney himself had a hand in when creating the Disneyland version, and first ever inception of the attraction, making the story and its characters very special to The Walt Disney Company. 

Flash forward a few years and the attraction would pop up in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, and slowly over time, it would find a home in every Disney park around the world. In 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl debuted, marking the first time that a Disney attraction would be turned into a movie, and not vice versa. The film would gross $654.3 million worldwide and introduces Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who teams up with blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) to rescue Elizabeth from cursed pirates led by Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

The following films include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), where Jack Sparrow owes a debt to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), following the characters’ efforts against the East India Trading Company and Davy Jones; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), with Jack Sparrow searching for the Fountain of Youth; and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), where Jack faces Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) seeking revenge.

Overall, the franchise has garnered over $4.5 billion worldwide.

While the franchise has been a massive succuess, it has not come without its challenges. Now, a new issue that arose on set in the past has come to light. As Fandomwire stated, “There was one dangerous incident that involved the director Gore Verbinski and his collaborator, Jim Byrkit. ”

The publication went on, “Discussing during an interview, Jim Byrkit, the conceptual consultant and storyboard artist for the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, revealed how they were stranded on an island. Looking for the perfect location to shoot, Gore Verbinski and Byrkit were apparently abandoned on purpose by their crew.” It seems that this happened on the “most dangerous” island in the Caribbean.

Jim stated to Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki that one of his favorite memories of the first three films came from location hunting, “The location scouts were quite adventurous and fun. I loved cruising around remote parts of the Caribbean, looking for just the right place to set a scene. And of course, making the map. That was a joy.”

Byrkit also opened up on his favorite island, as well as the most dangerous one, which seemed to be synonymous, “The most dangerous was also my favorite. We were on the island of Dominica, scouting inlets, and the boat left us behind because of the tide. So we had to find our way home through the jungle. That was ridiculous and exhausting but really great. Now that I’ve stopped itching.”

Regardless of this fun prank, it seems that it was all well-worth the struggles to find the location, as it resulted in billions of dollars for Disney and the film.

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Update

The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been uncertain for a considerable period, with Disney actively working to address the repercussions of parting ways with Johnny Depp, a decision that now appears to be based on disproven allegations.

While Disney has officially announced plans for a sixth instalment, there has been extreme distancing from Johnny Depp. This distancing coincided with Depp’s legal battle with his ex-wife, Amber Heard, during which she accused him of abuse. Despite being acquitted, Disney had already severed ties with Depp, a decision that has left both fans and the company in a regrettable position.

Depp, in turn, had emphatically stated that not even a $300 million offer could lure him back to Disney, a sentiment he maintained during his trial.

In a recent development, Craig Mazin, the creative force behind HBO’s highly successful series The Last of Us, proposed a concept for the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean instalment, rumored to be a reboot. Initially skeptical about the idea’s acceptance, Mazin was pleasantly surprised when it gained approval by Disney.

Subsequently, he crafted a new script for the film, but progress was halted due to the now-concluded strike, leaving everyone in a state of anticipation.

Reflecting on the situation, Mazin remarked, “We pitched it and thought there’s no way they’re buying it, it’s too weird. And they did! And then he wrote a fantastic script, and the strike happened, and everyone’s waiting around.”

At the moment, there are no details as to what is going on with Pirates of the Caribbean 6 past this point.