Chapter 62: Finding the Best Actor for Captain Jack Sparrow

The establishment of Pirates of the Caribbean was not as simple as it seemed.

Originally, Disney considered creating a promotional film that would benefit its own pirate-themed amusement park ride, as the number of visitors to the ride was relatively low. Later on, the pirate ride was officially renamed Pirates of the Caribbean and added various elements of treasure hunting and interactive games.

This proved how much profit Disney gained from this project, far surpassing the box office earnings of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. This was also the reason why Kevin chose to film Pirates of the Caribbean early on.

However, Kevin was not in a rush to license this franchise. In fact, MGM also had its own amusement park located in Las Vegas. However, compared to Disney's theme parks, it paled in comparison.

Kevin planned to deeply develop these intellectual properties only when he gained control over Marvel or MGM in the future. Before that, he wanted to firmly hold the external licensing rights for Pirates of the Caribbean in his hands.

In fact, Kevin placed much more importance on Pirates of the Caribbean than on Mission: Impossible, Saw, or Final Destination.

No matter when it was, fantasy IP always had a greater impact than urban-themed content. The enchanting and magnificent world of fantasy is something people all over the world yearn for.

...

With an assistant running errands, Kevin felt much more relaxed. He entrusted all the miscellaneous tasks to Ellie, except for occasional outings for purchases. Ellie gladly carried out Kevin's instructions, despite the fatigue. Through these processes, she had the opportunity to interact with numerous influential figures she would never have encountered before. This experience would undoubtedly benefit her future development in Hollywood, as a child from an ordinary middle-class family who previously had no access to such personalities.

As for Kevin, now that he had an assistant, he enjoyed life in his villa while contemplating the plot of Pirates of the Caribbean. In the first film, the original main characters were Governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann and blacksmith apprentice Will Turner. Most people could deduce this from the plot. However, after the movie was released, Jack Sparrow's charm conquered everyone. His radiance completely overshadowed the original main characters. At that point, Pirates of the Caribbean essentially had only one protagonist, Captain Jack Sparrow.

In theory, the best choice for the role of Jack Sparrow would be the original, Johnny Depp. However...

Could 30-year-old Johnny Depp, at his current age, exhibit the superb acting skills and charismatic qualities he should have displayed in Pirates of the Caribbean ten years later? This raised some doubts for Kevin.

As for the events that led to Johnny Depp's downfall, Kevin, as an outsider, refrained from commenting too much. His relationship with his ex-wife became highly publicized and went through multiple twists and turns. It seemed that there were multiple forces at play behind the scenes, and the ultimate result was Johnny Depp being removed from Pirates of the Caribbean. On the surface, it appeared to be in accordance with the official narrative. However, it was difficult to say whether Disney no longer wanted to bear Depp's high salary and share of the box office profits, as a means to reasonably reboot the Pirates franchise.

But if Depp truly was a scoundrel, it was not entirely impossible.

At least at this time, Depp was betrayed more than being the scoundrel who was boycotted by Hollywood.

With this in mind, Kevin no longer hesitated.

Although he didn't have much personal connection with Depp, there was a unique relationship between Depp and Nicolas Cage in his past life's memories.

There would be no issue contacting Depp through Cage.

However, thinking about this, Kevin's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

He had promised to prepare a great film for Cage, but due to various unforeseen circumstances, it kept getting delayed.

Should he also ask Cage if he would like to portray Captain Jack Sparrow?

With this idea in mind, Kevin directly took the plan for Pirates of the Caribbean and headed towards Nicolas Cage's mansion.

...

In the mansion of Nicolas Cage:

Cage was admiring his collection. As a mega-star, his income was substantial, reaching tens of millions of dollars annually, more than enough to support any extravagant lifestyle.

However, his true passion lay in real estate investment, buying luxury cars, and collecting comics. Of course, anything peculiar would always pique his interest, just like the small Tyrannosaurus rex skull fossil in front of him, which he considered a priceless treasure. The person who sold it to him was unaware of its value, and Cage acquired the skull for just a few hundred thousand dollars.

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang, and Cage approached the monitor, where he saw Kevin suddenly paying a visit. Initially, their interaction was merely a neighborly courtesy. However, after learning about Kevin's experiences, Cage developed an appreciation for him. Through some exchanges, they became good friends despite their significant age difference.

Upon seeing Kevin's arrival, Cage was delighted and hurriedly made his way to the door.

"Hello, Kevin!"

"Cage!"

The two embraced before entering Cage's mansion together.

Unlike Kevin's mansion, Cage's was considerably larger, and the yard was adorned with numerous Roman statues. It appeared entirely different from an ordinary person's residence. However, Kevin, accustomed to such extravagance, paid no attention to these details and simply handed the project proposal to Cage.

Cage then retrieved a bottle of top-tier wine from his refrigerator, along with two glasses, and poured two servings. They waited quietly as Cage slowly began to review the script.

"Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Cage furrowed his brow and carefully examined the script.

The script itself wasn't overly complicated, following the typical story structure of a big-budget film. In that sense, Kevin hadn't ventured into anything groundbreaking. Instead, it was a mature commercial film, and truth be told, Cage hadn't had much exposure to commercial film directors.

Currently, Cage was more interested in challenging roles. To put it plainly, he was aiming for movies that would earn him awards. He hadn't considered pure commercial films like Pirates of the Caribbean.

However, he couldn't deny that even from the script, he could feel the charm of Captain Jack Sparrow. He could envision this character becoming another classic in film history.

This gave him some hesitation.

But in the end, Cage let out a sigh.

While he did want to take on the role, he found it difficult to imagine himself as a flamboyant pirate captain. He wondered how he would fit into that character.