ByTom Chapman, writer at CREATORS.CO

Yo, ho, whoa! #JohnnyDepp is back and the #PiratesoftheCaribbean series is off on another swashbuckling adventure with Dead Men Tell No Tales. From the tiny raft of 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl, we have built ourselves a veritable fleet of films and one hell of a franchise over the past 14 years. We may be able to already spy more films on the horizon, but the worry now is that the entire Pirates franchise rests on the swaying shoulders of a drunken Jack Sparrow.

Sure, Depp is undoubtedly skilled as the fast-talking marauder, but there is something about #GeoffreyRush’s antihero portrayal as Captain Hector Barbossa that has always made him more mesmerizing to watch.

Serving as the villainous antagonist of the first film, Barbossa’s finale return in the 2006’s sequel was one of the best-kept surprises that the franchise threw our way. However, as Dead Men ties back to the roots of its first film, #Disney has one more Barbossa shocker to throw our way. As we batten down the hatches and prepare to ride the storm of critical reviews, Rush himself has now spoken out on THAT Barbossa bombshell!

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

The Captain Goes Down With The Ship

So there we have it, after five films and two deaths, Hector Barbossa has actually drank his last drop of rum and taken his peg-leg to the bowels of Davy Jones’s Locker. It was a strangely touching moment of the series, but speaking to CinemaBlend, what did Rush himself think?

“It’s a bit like the Dickens novels that, episode by episode, happen over a long period of time and the readers have a contribution to it. I liked that there was a kind of surprising secret from the past that he’s obviously been sitting on and I kind of looked back on the other four films to go, if I had that knowledge, if the writers hadn’t come up with that surprise background secret in his life it all made sense. And I thought ‘gee maybe that’s where Jack the monkey came from’ it’s a repressed memory that’s found a substitute. Everything made sense.”

Perfectly played out for a typically Pirates-esque finale, it was all hands on deck as Cap’n Jack and his motley crew attempted to take on the ghostly visage of #JavierBardem’s Salazar. With pure poetic justice, we were left with the reveal that newcomer Kaya Scodelario’s character is actually the daughter of Barbossa — you old sea dog, you!

An Elizabeth Swann-song

A million wales away from his skeletal appearance in The Black Pearl, a noble Barbossa then sacrificed his life to save Carina, who later announced that she would change her name from Smyth to Barbossa. Thankfully, we were left with the reformed father figure from the latest film, and although Barbossa ended up a hero, viewers and Rush noticed that he had effectively played a different version of the character in each film:

“Yeah and even though I wasn’t playing those notions. But because he’s always been such a transformational character. He’s become a politician, he’s worked for the King, and now he’s a corporate CEO with a vulgarity of wealth, having that slightly more vain narcissistic ruthless survivor character to confront a vulnerability or some hidden emotional core was really great to play in the landscape, the tone, the scale, the big brushstrokes that these stories require.”

Dead Men may not be up there in terms of film quality, but you certainly see comparisons to the “I am your father” Star Wars element in the twist. Just like The Empire Strikes Back, the Barbossa and Carina moment was also one that didn’t feel forced in for the sake of watercooler chatter. In particular, the inclusion of Jack the monkey, and as a substitute for the loss of Barbossa’s daughter, is a nice element that plays out over a rewatch of the previous films. It certainly hasn’t been a great year for fathers in Disney films, as Barbossa join’s “that guy” from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

While the fifth film certainly won’t sink the franchise, it does seem that the sails are a little waterlogged and the rot has set in on the deck. Depp may continue to steal the limelight as Disney rides the waves of its nautical cash cow, but without the hypothetical parrot on his shoulder thanks to the loss of Barbossa, how much longer can we stay afloat?

IMAGE: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ [Credit: Disney] ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ [Credit: Disney]

For more on this story go to: https://moviepilot.com/p/geoffrey-rush-comments-huge-pirates-of-the-caribbean-twist/4281473