‘Pirates 5’ – Is Will Turner a Villain in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales?’

Disney has released pictures of Orlando Bloom reprising his role as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. But it’s clear from what we’ve seen that Will Turner is in a very different place than he was at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In fact, in a surprise twist Will Turner might be a villain in this installment. That speculation comes from Turner’s face, which is now barnacle-encrusted just as Davy Jones’ was in the previous Pirates films.

What happened to Will Turner?

Will Turner was last seen at the end of the third Pirates film, At World’s End. Turner was gravely injured by Davy Jones, but able to take his place as the captain of The Flying Dutchman with the help of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

It’s explained in the film that Davy Jones’ octopus-like appearance was because he strayed from his task of ferrying dead sailors to the afterlife. His ship and crew were slowly transformed into monstrous fish-like creatures bent on terrorizing the seven seas.

Turner technically became the new Davy Jones, and The Flying Dutchman was freed from its curse. The ship was now white and apparently set on a much brighter path, returning to its noble mission. Turner was joined by his father, “Bootstrap” Bill Turner.

Turner spent one day with his new bride Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly) before returning to sea. He wouldn’t be able to set foot on land again for another 10 years.

However, that one day apparently produced a son, as an end credits stinger showed Swann standing with a 9 or 10 year old boy waiting for Turner, whose return was heralded by a flash of green.

Turner sat out Pirates 4

Will Turner was not in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Apparently he was too busy ferrying the dead. Or something.

Turner Might be the Key to Salizar’s Resurrection

The new villain of Pirates 5 is Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem). From the trailer, it looks as if Salazar was killed by a young Jack Sparrow, but came back for vengeance through supernatural means. (Of course. This is a Pirates movie, after all.)

Could Will Turner (aka Davy Jones 2.0) have brought Salazar back? Would Turner do such a thing? He might, if he was lied to…

Nothing to Lose: A Theory

Kiera Knightly is sitting this film out. It’s possible that, like Davy Jones before him, Will has gone astray due to losing the love of his wife, Elizabeth Swann. Turning to “the dark side” would likely curse Will Turner as it did Davy Jones, causing the barnacles to grow all over his face.

Could Salazar have lied to Turner in the afterlife about how dear Elizabeth died? Perhaps Salazar told Will that Jack Sparrow killed Elizabeth, and that he’d be more than happy to hunt Sparrow dead. Turner agrees, Salizar is brought back to life, and Turner starts down the same dark path as Darth Vader… er… Davy Jones.

Pirates 5: A New Hope?

Like his father before him, a now teenaged Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) will team up with Jack Sparrow to bring Will Turner back to the light side and free him from his curse.

That’s all fan speculation, of course. We still have more than a month to wait until Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is released. The plot may play out very, very differently.

However, the critical reception for Pirates 5 has been great. The movie was screened for reviewers at last month’s CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, with most saying it was a return to form.

Here’s hoping!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opens this Memorial Day weekend.

Are you excited about Pirates 5? Comment below or in the forums!