Original ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Script Had No Place for Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp gained global recognition by becoming the face of the iconic Jack Sparrow. He continued to play the role in five of their installments before stating his intention to never return to the franchise. However, many might not know that the original script of the first installment had no place for the actor.

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The movie in question is the 2003 project, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which began the adventures of Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow. However, the earlier script version had a completely different plan. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Scrapped Script Had No Place for Johnny Depp

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During the early production phase of the hit movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the script went through quite a few rewrites. As per IMDB, there was a sequence where Norrington, who loves Elizabeth Swann, was to ask her for marriage only to get rejection in return. 

Unable to cope with Swann’s rejection, he felt enraged and planned to join Captain Barbossa, the captain of the Black Pearl. The script follows the duo joining hands to try to take over the Caribbean. From that angle, Johnny Depp almost had no place in the story but it was eventually turned down.

Meanwhile, the final story follows Depp’s Jack Sparrow teaming up with Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner and Swann to rescue her after she gets kidnapped by Barbossa’s pirates aboard Black Pearl. As for casting Depp for the iconic role, it was almost in doubt due to his own deeds.

Johnny Depp Capping His Front Teeth With Gold Almost Worried Disney Execs 

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The movie producer, Jerry Bruckheimer in a 2003 interview with Los Angeles Times via IGN, talked about the Black Mass actor’s casting as the pirate Captain. As to why the former wanted the City of Lies star for the role, he stated that Depp is “an edgy actor who will kind of counter the Disney Country Bears soft quality and tell an audience that an adult and teenager can go see this and have a good time with it.”

However, his casting worried Disney executives let alone Bruckheimer when Depp’s front teeth were capped with Gold. In the same interview, the actor revealed, 

“Jerry was slightly uncomfortable and the Disney executives weren’t exactly enthusiastic about it.”

However, he believed in his work and asked them for a final decision, which eventually went in his favor. 

 “I said, ‘Look, these are the choices I made. You know my work. So either trust me or give me the boot.’ And luckily, they didn’t.”

The movie, meanwhile, was an incredible hit spawning a billion-dollar franchise. Grossing over $654.3 million worldwide, the movie turned out to be a critical and commercial success. It is now available to watch on Disney+.