Pirates of the Caribbean is a long-running series starring Jack Sparrow as its main protagonist. The movies include many things that are open to interpretation and can be confusing for people who have just started watching them. For example, is Jack Sparrow immortal?
No, Jack Sparrow is not immortal. In the Dead Man’s Chest, he steals the Aztec gold, which made him immortal briefly before the curse was broken. The fountain of youth also does not work the way Jack had hoped for it too.
In this article, we will discuss these events in more detail to analyze whether Jack Sparrow is immortal.
Is Jack Sparrow Immortal?
No, Jack Sparrow is not immortal. He was briefly immortal when he stole a gold coin from the treasure chest in Dead Man’s Chest right before dueling Barbossa. Will, however, soon broke this curse.
His demise at the hands of the Kraken and subsequent confinement in Davy Jones’ Locker prove that he was not endowed with immortality by the curse placed upon him by the stolen Aztec coin. We also saw in the movies that Jack wasn’t able to reap the benefits of the fountain of youth despite his best efforts. His ability to adapt and survive (most of the time) explains why he may have an ideal of “immortality.”
In the movies, he can be seen saying, “And who’s to say I won’t live forever, eh? Discoverer of the Fountain of Youth.”
Therefore, one definition of immortality is the quality of being unforgettably present in historical accounts. For instance, Jack asserted that because he was the one who discovered the Fountain of Youth after the illustrious explorer Juan Ponce de León failed to do so, he would be known throughout all of time and would therefore, in a sense, never die.
How Does Barbossa Get Resurrected in Pirates of the Caribbean?
At the end of the second movie, Will and Elizabeth learn that Tia Dalma has brought Barbossa back to life so that he can assist them in retrieving Jack from Davy Jones’ Locker. It is unknown how she accomplished this at the time, but given that magic is canon in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe, one may safely presume it involved some sort of mystery spell.
But At World’s End makes it clear that Calypso, a sea deity, is really Tia Dalma disguised as a human. This suggests that she may move freely between the worlds of the living and the dead, which would account for her success in retrieving Barbossa.
How Accurate is Pirates of the Caribbean?
The film series Pirates of the Caribbean presents a rosy picture of the pirate age. Ignoring the mystical components and all the obsolete details that make it difficult to narrow down a specific year, and considering that we rarely witness our pirate protagonists actually pirating, the film presents a much more thrilling and appealing lifestyle than existed in reality.
Most pirates throughout history were formerly sailors. They had either voluntarily enlisted or been press-ganged into the navy, and most of them were from low-income backgrounds. They were sick of the deplorable living conditions on navy ships and decided to revolt.
However, being a pirate wasn’t any better. Disease and squalor were rampant on ships. It was an exhausting effort just to keep the ship afloat. Pirates typically looted merchant ships for food and medicine rather than precious metals and gems. In most cases, pirates would rather use force or intimidation to get their hands on a ship’s loot than risk losing their own vessels in battle.
Additionally, many of the most unpleasant aspects of the historical period are glossed over or completely ignored in the series. The transatlantic slave trade occurred during the height of the Golden Age of Piracy. Pirates often used the slaves as “trade goods” to sell to other ships. Some of them joined pirate bands. However, many of those people were eventually sold to plantations in the Caribbean.
Will Johnny Depp Return as Jack Sparrow?
According to a source close to the production, Johnny Depp is being considered for a return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the next Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Starting with 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl, the actor starred in all five films of the series. However, with the release of the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales, rumors began to circulate that Depp had severed ties with Disney and would no longer be reprising his role as Jack Sparrow.
This happened in the midst of the previous trials of the actor and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, who alleged that the Hollywood star had physically and emotionally assaulted her.
The dispute between Depp and Heard began in 2019 when Depp filed a defamation lawsuit against Heard in response to an opinion article she had written for The Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse by Depp.
After receiving a lawsuit from Depp in 2020, Aquaman’s actress filed a countersuit the following year, and the trial in 2022 quickly gained media attention.
There were two separate trials, one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States. Although Depp was never accused of rape in the UK libel case, he was found to have engaged in violent domestic abuse against Heard. The US court, however, found her assertions to be mainly unfounded.
Despite Amber Heard’s earlier statements that she would be appealing the US case’s outcome, she paid Johnny Depp $1 million to settle out of court in December.
Disney apparently parted ways with Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp in the midst of the controversy surrounding his relationship with Amber Heard. Depp testified later in the trial that he would not return to Disney even if offered $300 million.
While neither party has officially stated their desire to work together again, Disney Studios Motion Picture Production President Sean Bailey has dropped hints that Depp may reprise the role in an upcoming project.
Conclusion
So, while Jack Sparrow was not immortal because he was under the gold coin curse for only a short period of time, we can say with certainty that he remains immortal in that his character can never die in history.
