While the Jungle Cruise. When The Curse of the Black Pearl arrived in cinemas in 2003, few industry commentators could have predicted just how successful the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise would become in the years that followed. With a cast of largely unknown rising stars such as Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley, The Curse of the Black Pearl was an entry into the infamously unreliable swashbuckling adventure sub-genre (which was home to major financial flops such as 1982’s Pirates and 1995’s Cut-throat Island).
Despite this, the Pirates of the Caribbean series became an unheralded success. The franchise was so successful that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 became the most expensive movie ever made during the sequel’s production and was still able to comfortably earn a profit. However, these good fortunes could not last for the franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean’s fifth outing saw the box office performance of the series hit a snag, and star Johnny Depp’s legal troubles soon saw the Jack Sparrow actor let go from the franchise. Without its famous star or a clear plan, the Pirates of the Caribbean series seemed to be in trouble.
Jungle Cruise’s Frank Was Supposed To Be The Rock’s Jack Sparrow
In 2021, Disney attempted to find a workaround for this issue. Rather than explicitly addressing Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean exit, the studio released Jungle Cruise, a blockbuster with series potential that was seemingly intended to replace the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Jungle Cruise told the story of a lovable rogue who cons a self-sufficient heroine, only to end up getting swept up in a life-endangering adventure with her. Eventually, this antihero revealed that under all his campy charms, he secretly used to be part of the group of undead villains who were trying to kill the heroes of the movie.
This plot effectively replicated the major beats of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl. ittedly, there were some superficial differences between the projects. Jack only became immortal like his former crew mates from the Black Pearl while he was fighting them, whereas the twist of Jungle Cruise revealed its hero had been trapped on the Amazon for over 300 years, unable to die or leave. Similarly, Jungle Cruise’s Jack Whitehall played the heroine’s brother, whereas Orlando Bloom played the heroine’s love interest, so Jungle Cruise was missing The Curse of the Black Pearl’s love triangle.
Jungle Cruise Was A Failed Pirates of the Caribbean Replacement
For all of the story beats that Jungle Cruise changed, the blockbuster was still a fairly transparent attempt to replace Pirates of the Caribbean. As an ambitious historical adventure movie based on a Disneyland ride that aimed to become franchise-spawning summer blockbuster series by mixing comedy, horror, and fantasy elements, Jungle Cruise had a massive amount in common with Pirates of the Caribbean. While Pirates of the Caribbean 5 set up the sixth movie’s story, Depp’s departure and the sequel’s underperformance led the studio to seemingly pursue a replacement - only for the elements that worked for the pirate series to fall somewhat flat with critics in Jungle Cruise.
Jungle Cruise’s Failure May Not Spell Disaster For POTC 6
While Jungle Cruise was very similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and proved a box office flop upon release, this doesn’t necessarily spell doom for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. The Pirates of the Caribbean series has brand recognition where Jungle Cruise did not, and Jungle Cruise’s bleak box office can mostly be chalked up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only that, but negative reviews impacted Jungle Cruise much more than they would hurt a potential Pirates of the Caribbean 6, as creating further movies for the former is far harder now due to critical reception.
In contrast, Pirates of the Caribbean’s critical failure never truly hurt the series, despite the reception of the franchise worsening with each sequel. Jungle Cruise needed to impress, whereas Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is guaranteed a built-in audience regardless of its reviews. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise might never return to the heights that the series enjoyed at the beginning of its box office reign, but the series has still never released a sequel that did not manage to cross the $700 million mark. In contrast, Jungle Cruise earned $220 million on a $200 million budget, proving the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise’s success can’t be copied.
