Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales gave Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow the perfect ending after 14 years of Pirate adventures negating the need for Pirates 6 to wrap up his arc. Since 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean has been a major part of pop culture, with Johnny Depp's wacky and whimsical Jack Sparrow being the main reason behind the franchise's success. As time has gone on, the quality of the Pirates films has declined, sinking to an all-time low with 2017's, Dead Men Tell No Tales, which earned Johnny Depp a Razzie nomination, and failed to reach the box Office numbers of its predecessor: Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. However, despite this apparent failure, Dead Men Tell No Tales actually provided the ideal send-off for one of modern Hollywood's most recognizable characters.

Dead Men Tell No Tales sees Captain Jack Sparrow face off against Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), who has escaped the "Devil's Triangle" and is coming for revenge after Jack defeated him long ago. Jack Sparrow largely takes a back seat in favor of new cast members Brenton Thwaites and Kay Scodelario (Henry Turner and Carina Smith respectively) as they try to find the trident of Poseidon which can break all curses, including the one linking William Turner to the Flying Dutchman. While most of the characters behaved fairly predictably (with Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa proving particularly popular), Jack Sparrow's characterization seemed off throughout the film – overly drunk, never coming up with any schemes and frequently escaping through luck rather than wits. Given this, and despite the film ending on a high note for everyone else, it's hard to see Jack's ending as satisfactory. Yet, it is.

Since the beginning of the series, Jack Sparrow has been an enigma. His wants, needs, and motivations are something the audience and the characters around him can only guess at, except when it comes to one thing – The Black Pearl. While Jack and The Black Pearl's origins are complicated, getting the Pearl back has been the main goal for Jack throughout the series. The first film follows his pursuit for the Pearl and its new Captain, Hector Barbosa, whilst the two following sequels are centered around his debt to Davy Jones, who brought the ship back from the Locker after it was destroyed. Pirates 4 saw him steal it back from Blackbeard, and Dead Men Tell No Tales ends with Jack finally reuniting with his ship once and for all. The importance of the Black Pearl to Jack is not in the ship itself, but in what it gives Jack, freedom in a world that seeks to control him. Having him once again at the helm of the ship is the perfect ending for Jack, signifying that Jack is free from his past and can move forward again.


Dead Men Tell No Tales' ending also mimics what would have been the original ending for Jack in 2003's Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Dead Men Tell No Tales even re-invents the famous "bring me that horizon" line, ending with Jack Sparrow saying "I have a rendezvous beyond the horizon" giving Jack the ending he was originally supposed to have. Prior to the film's release many expected Pirates to flop like Cutthroat Island, with its mixture of horror, adventure, comedy, and romance and its theme park ride origins meaning Pirates was never expected to become a franchise, which explains the famous "horizon" line's apparent sense of finality.

The Post-credits scene in Pirates 5 teases the return of Davy Jones, meaning there's always the hope that time and the result of the current defamation trial could bring Johnny Depp back for Pirates 6, despite Depp saying that not even "$300 million would bring him back". While one more Pirates film could tie everything up neatly for Jack, it's not really needed, as Jack has retrieved the Pearl at last, ending his major arc. The first Pirates and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales both end with Jack gazing at the horizon aboard his greatest love, with the Black Pearl's crew on hand, looking outward to adventure, freedom and endless possibilities.