The future of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is in a very weird place right now. We know that Disney is actively working on a new movie, but what that movie is, is anybody’s guess. It might see the return of Johnny Depp, but it might not. It apparently includes the involvement of Margot Robbie, despite previously being told it would not. At this point, we don’t know who might appear in the new film, though one former, and largely forgotten, cast member is ready for his own return.
Following the success of the initial Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, we saw Captain Jack Sparrow throw in with some new characters for the film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The film introduced several new characters, like Ian McShane as Blackbeard and a young Sam Claflin as Philip, a missionary captured by Blackbeard who falls in love with a mermaid. Speaking with comicbook.com, Claflin says he’s willing to grovel to rejoin the franchise. He said…
Let’s beg the producers, because I would love to revisit that world again.
If Sam Claflin wants to go beg Jerry Bruckheimer to become part of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, I might be willing to join him. I would love to see the franchise return to characters of Philip and the mermaid Syrena, if for no other reason than to put some sort of an end to that story.
On Stranger Tides is something of a strange movie in the Pirates franchise now because it stands so alone. It sent Captain Jack Sparrow on a new adventure for the Fountain of Youth, and ended with Philip swimming off to seemingly become a merman, and female lead Penelope Cruz marooned on an island with a Jack Sparrow voodoo doll.
These story elements were then dropped for the next film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, so they’ve never been followed up on. If the next film in the franchise isn’t a complete reboot, then it would be great if it found a way to connect back to this orphaned movie.
While I would love to see Sam Claflin return primarily for story reasons, his own reasons for being interested in rejoining the franchise are more personal. He indicates he didn’t have nearly as much fun making the movie as he now feels he should have, largely because On Stranger Tides was his first movie, and he found the experience somewhat overwhelming. He explained…
It was my first ever film. I’d done a bit of TV before, but as a film experience, I was so nervous. I was like a deer in headlights. I didn’t know what was happening. And you know what a scare. What a what a sort of stage to step onto when you don’t really know what’s going on. And so I took myself and the job so seriously and it deserved it in many ways. And Philip is that kind of character.
The current understanding is that there are multiple versions of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, with one including the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, something Jerry Bruckheimer wants to see, and the other not. It’s highly unlikely either version would see the return of Sam Claflin’s Philip, but I, for one, wouldn’t be against it.
