Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Casting Fourth...

Yo, ho, ho, ho...


With all the casting news lately for Walt Disney Pictures "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" we can finally start seeing a bit of how the story will play out...

A little.

I mean, let's take who we know is in the film first of all, and then examine who each of them will be playing.

Captain Jack Sparrow - Duh. The classic Disneyland attraction may have been created without him, but the film series depends on this roguish character as much as Raiders of the Lost Ark relies on Indiana Jones. It's hard to believe this character at one time was being thought of for Matthew McConaughey. Then again, it's hard to believe that Tom Selleck was going to by Indy.

Captain Hector Barbossa - Although it's not official, Geoffrey Rush has talked about returning and with the plot line that ends in "At World's End" it only seems natural that Barbossa would chase Sparrow looking for revenge and that map. He's the perfect foil to Sparrow, even if not the perfect villain in part four.

Joshamee Gibbs - Jack's right hand man should likely see adventure again so long as the crew under Captain Rob Marshall see fit. Where would Sparrow be without Gibbs to help him out of a tight spot or an empty flask of rum?

Pintel - Barbossa's short, puggish and blunt member of the crew was hilarious and a great straight man to Ragetti. These two make a great 1700'a Abbott and Costello. These two would more than likely be in tow with Captain Hector.

Ragetti - The funny man in this two man comedy act. String bean tall, dim whitted and one eyed crew member won't be seen far from Pintel. Like Yen and Yang, they go together.

Blackbeard/Edward Teach/Edward Thatch - The scourge of the high seas. The perfect villain if played/written correctly. I wondered where he was in the Pirate World when watching the original series and now that's going to be answered. I'm excited to see how McShane plays him. If there is any pirate to be a bad guy, it's Edward Teach. The mythos surrounding him lend itself to some great sea tales.

Blackbeard's Daughter - Who would have known that the pirate had a daughter? And who would have thought she would be as hot as Penelope Cruz? I'm sure the character is designed to be a love interest for Jack Sparrow. That would be a nice change since the love angle in the original series was set up for Will/Elizabeth.

Syrena - The lovely and alluring mermaid, Astrid Berges-Frisbey will play a siren of seas that will most likely play out in another fantasy world like Davey Jones Locker. I wonder if she'll have seashells strategically placed and sing songs about the world of humans?

Philip - A youthful missionary named Sam Claflin. This character will possibly be a moral point, by which I mean, a way to give exposition to the story. Or at least someone to offer prayers when Blackbeard makes Sparrow walk the plank.

Scram - A loathsome pirate played by Stephen Graham. Not much else is known about the character, but since it was announced in the trades I expect the character to play a central role in the plot.

So we know a little about the people that populate this fourth film. Slowly, the world expands and as the weeks pass I'm sure we'll see and learn more of this new voyage.

Dead men tell no tells...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Exciting stuff.

I was at the Walt Disney Pictures presentation at the D23 Expo, and it was awesome when Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow made that surprise appearance!

It almost made me feel bad for the couple sitting next to me that decided to leave the presentation early...Oh well, that'll teach em. :p

Kevin Bruehl said...

I can't wait for this. I love Pirates of the Caribbean, all three movies. They're just lots of fun. Looks very fun and promising. I never found #3 to be confusing like some. I'm really looking forward to seeing Ian McShane as Blackbeard.

Jim Haley said...

I can just see Jack Sparrow doing a double take at Syrena and then saying "You're not going to sing Part Of Your World are you?".

Anonymous said...

Raggeti, if you remember played a dim-wit that would at the right time spit out some philosphical statement, usually something about the duality of man, and then just as fast switch back to his dim-witted self. I loved it.

Anonymous said...

Pintel and Ragetti are not in it. Philipe and Syrena end up sharing their own love story. Philipe is a young pirate and Syrena is one of many aermaids who transform into sharks when fully underwater and into humans when fully out of water.

Angelica is a con-woman who has Blackbeard convinced that she is his daughter and had a past with Jack Sparrow.