Fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies may not be able to picture another star besides Johnny Depp playing the leading swashbuckler of Captain Jack Sparrow, but it turns out that Depp wasn’t the first choice for Jack. In fact, the Disney character was named after the actor who screenwriter Stuart Beattie originally envisioned for the part – Hugh Jackman.
Speaking with Pop Tarts at the Advance Lounge Chair series in Los Angeles (via Fox News), Beattie shared that Captain Jack Sparrow was created with the Wolverine actor as the main inspiration. “I initially wrote that character with Hugh Jackman in mind,” he said. “Hence the name Captain JACK Sparrow.”
According to the publication, Beattie initially approached Disney with this casting choice for the hit adventure movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Although Jackman was just starting to hit the mainstream eye with his roles in the X-Men movies, he was considered an influential star back in Beattie’s home country of Australia.
But since Jackman wasn’t the huge name in Hollywood that he is today– the studio ultimately went with the well-known Johnny Depp as Captain Jack instead.
Beattie wasn’t one to disagree with the Depp decision, as he had waited long enough to get his project off the ground. “I spent ten years pitching it to Disney, and they weren’t interested,” Beattie, explained. “Then, finally, I got a call to come back in.”
Although Johnny Depp wasn’t the first choice for Captain Jack Sparrow, he has become a firm face in the franchise and is rumoured to be returning to the series for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 – however, nothing has been confirmed at this point. Stay tuned for updates.
You can now watch all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the streaming service Disney Plus. For more Magical Kingdom picks, here are our lists of the best Disney villains and Disney princesses.