Axe Fantasy

‘On Stranger Tides’ Is No Stranger To Publicity

Well, the publicity machine for the highly anticipated fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie is already in town, with a new trailer in front of all Winter film releases. Despite the interchangably ‘not that great’ second and third installments, ‘On Stranger Tides’ is bound to take figures approximating the billion dollars that ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ made. A more welcome return to Barbados holidays is basically unimaginable.

The road to Stranger Tides has been a strange tale in itself, and there have been many casualties along the way. The new film will introduce a love interest for Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character in lieu of the romantic hijinks of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley’s Will and Elizabeth. The biggest obstacle to the film’s success was arguably veteran Disney Chairman Dick Cook, supposedly ousted by CEO Bob Iger. Without Cook’s influence in the early years, there would have been no Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. A Deppless ‘Pirates’ is not something anyone is comfortable in imagining. Thankfully though, the ‘crack’ in Depp’s enthusiasm was quickly ignored and it was Antigua holidays for Jack Sparrow all over again.

‘On Stranger Tides’ came to light when the Disney studio purchased the rights to the 80s fantasy novel of the same name. It concerns the exploits of ‘Jack Shandy’, a sailor who gets embroiled in a Professor’s plot to find the Fountain of Youth. Blackbeard, the legendary pirate is also a significant part of the mystery. Whilst Pirates of the Caribbean Four will be a loose adaptation of the original novel, many of these key elements are still present. The Fountain of Youth is still the ultimate objective of the protagonists and antagonists, in the case still headed up by Blackbeard. However, Jack Shandy is a inevitable casualty. No globe trotting detours for Vietnam holidays or Diary Farming fighters in this motion picture.

Fourth films are always tricky business, but ‘On Stranger Tides’ has seen a quicker turnaround than most. Here’s hoping that this isn’t the Pirates film that ‘nukes the fridge’, Indiana Jones style.

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