What seemed like a dying genre since the end of the 20th century left many filmmakers and actors reluctant to dive into projects involving pirates and the high seas. However, sometimes, with risk comes reward. That was the exact risk that producer Jerry Bruckheimer took with 'Pirates of the Caribbean', and it's safe to say it has paid off. To this day the franchise, which is based on the Walt Disney theme park ride of the same name, has grossed over 3.7 billion dollars worldwide.
To celebrate the arrival of the fifth edition of the adventures of Jack Sparrow, here are 10 fun facts that you may not know about the film that kicked off the saga.
1 Spoilt for choice
After considering the likes of Michael Keaton, Jim Carey and Christopher Walken, the first man to be offered the role of Captain Jack Sparrow was in fact Robert De Niro. However, the actor declined as he thought the film wouldn't perform as well in the box office as other pirate movies in the past. Finally, the one and only Johnny Depp.
For the role of Will Turner, the likes of Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Tobey Maguire and Christian Bale were considered for the role. The final decision was a hard one. It was between Heath Ledger or Orlando Bloom. Bloom got the role in the end as he had just made a big name for himself after 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
With regards to the character of Elizabeth Swann, famous names such as Amanda Bynes, Jaimie Alexander and Jessica Alba were all considered. However, the appointment of Keria Knightley was somewhat surprising considering she had very little Hollywood experience.
2 The bird is the word
The three main characters in the film are all linked to birds. Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann are both pretty self explanatory as their last names are names of birds. However, Will Turner has a bit more of a deeper meaning. Back in the 1500s, William Turner was an ornithologist which involves the study of birds.
3 To the left
Actor Geoffrey Rush, who of course plays the brilliant Captain Barbosa, made sure he followed the theory that, normally, viewers look at the screen from left to right, just like you would do when ready a book. With this in mind, Rush tried to stay on the left side of the screen as much as possible to capture the attention of the viewers. This is especially recognisable in the scenes he does with Keira Knightley.
4 Shipwrecked
During filming, Keira Knightley had a bit of a nightmare during a night shoot on one of the Caribbean islands. On the way back from the shoot, the boat that Knightley, her mother and the boat skipper crashed into a reef and started to sink. Luckily they all escaped and were rescued within a few hours. This incident lead to the remained of the island shots being conducted in a studio.
5 Jack the monkey
Captain Barbosa's small companion, Jack the monkey, was in fact played by two monkeys in the film. One of the monkeys was a 10-year old female monkey named Tara and the other Levi, an 8-year old male monkey. In the film, Barbosa calls the monkey Jack as somewhat of an insult to Jack Sparrow.
6 The HMS Interceptor
Besides the Black Pearl, there is another important ship in the film. The impressive ship used as the "HMS Interceptor" is an actual ship in real life. It is in fact the "Lady Washington", the official tall ship ambassador for the state of Washington. This is not the first time she has appeared in a film either, as the impressive boat can be seen in 'Star Trek: Generations' (1994).
7 Face of the first trailer
The first trailer for the film was released in 2002 to fit in with the release of 'The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers'. This was done to make the best use of Orlando Bloom to promote the film as at the time he was very popular for his role as Legolas in Peter Jackson's trilogy.
8 Cover up the tattoos!
Johnny Depp likes getting inked every now and then. When it comes to filming, for particular roles they may need to be covered up. During the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film, Depp's tattoos were covered up using clothing and charcoal. He did have one tattoo in the film, his Jack Sparrow tattoo on his arm which was fake. However once filming had finished he got it done properly in honour of his son, Jack.
9 Disneyland Premiere
The film's world premiere took place at Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in California. This Disneyland resort is home to the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction which was inspiration for the film. The premiere took place on June 28, 2003 and was the first ever movie premiere at Disneyland.
10 Quote creator
One of the closing lines of the film was created by Johnny Depp. When Jack Sparrow is sailing off into the distance he says "bring me that horizon". It has been revealed that Depp made up this quote the morning the scene was being filmed.