Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Has a Secret Lord of the Rings Reunion

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Orlando Bloom wasn’t a well-known actor when he first played Legolas, the elf archer, in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Before the first film came out in 2001, he’d only had small parts in one movie and a few TV shows. But The Lord of the Rings was a huge success, and Bloom quickly became famous. He followed that up with another major role as Will Turner in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series, starting with The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. The first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies were incredibly popular, but the quality of the series declined after that. While the fourth and fifth films still made money, they weren’t as well-received by audiences or critics.

Released in 2017, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales received mostly negative reviews, earning a 30% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. While audiences gave it a better 60% rating, it still fell short of the original Pirates of the Caribbean films. Critics felt the movie relied too heavily on old ideas, didn’t handle popular characters like Jack Sparrow well, and contradicted previously established storylines. Despite these issues, the film offered some entertainment and appealed to fans of Orlando Bloom’s earlier work. Notably, the movie brought together Bloom with several of his former The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit co-stars, creating a mini Middle-earth reunion.

Several The Lord of the Rings Actors Appeared in Dead Men Tell No Tales

David Wenham, an actor from The Lord of the Rings, was the first to appear alongside Orlando Bloom in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Interestingly, Bloom originally tried out for the role of Faramir, the character Wenham actually played in The Lord of the Rings. While Faramir was a hero in that series, Wenham played Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean – a villain similar to previous antagonists like Admiral Norrington and Lord Beckett. Scarfield’s main goal was to track down both Will Turner’s son, Henry, and Carina Smyth, who he believed was a witch.

Besides Orlando Bloom and Hugo Weaving, Bruce Spence also appeared in the Lord of the Rings films. Though less recognizable to many fans, he was in the extended edition of The Return of the King, playing a character who worked for the Dark Lord, though much of his face was hidden. In contrast, Spence played a far less threatening role in Pirates of the Caribbean as Mayor Dix, the somewhat clumsy leader of Saint Martin. He proudly opened a new bank vault, only for Jack Sparrow to rob it, and his attempt to have Jack executed was stopped by Henry and his friends.

Adam Brown was the other Hobbit actor featured in Dead Men Tell No Tales. He played Ori, one of the younger members of the company, in The Hobbit, and took on the role of the pirate Cremble in Pirates of the Caribbean. Unlike actors Wenham and Spence, Brown’s two characters were quite similar—both Ori and Cremble were kind-hearted but a little naive, primarily serving as comic relief, though they were capable fighters when necessary.

The Lord of the Rings’ Cast Could Return in Future Pirates of the Caribbean Films

Unfortunately, the four characters – Dix, Cremble, Will, and Scarfield – didn’t have much opportunity to interact in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Dix and Cremble were very small roles, and while Will was important to the story, he only appeared briefly at the beginning and end. Scarfield was the most significant of the four, but his death before the climax shifted the focus to Armando Salazar, who became the primary villain.

If a sequel is ever made, we might see some of the original cast return. The film Dead Men Tell No Tales concluded with Will Turner breaking his curse and being happily reunited with his family, and the ending hinted at a possible future confrontation with Captain Davy Jones.

Dix and Cremble also made it through, but Dix probably won’t be back since his story mainly involved Saint Martin. Spence, however, could play a new role – he’s famous for playing villains and monsters, like the Mouth of Sauron, and would fit right in with a ghostly pirate crew like Jones’ or Salazar’s. Plus, Scarfield’s death doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone for good; characters have returned from the dead before in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Even if we don’t see these actors in future Pirates of the Caribbean movies, there’s still hope the cast will work together again someday.

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2025-11-02 01:08