10 Movies That Weren't Meant To Be Sequels

Even though Pirates of the Caribbean was intended to be a trilogy, plans changed when the second and third entry collectively earned two billion dollars. Disney bought the rights for Tim Powers' 1987 novel, On Stranger Tides, the same year Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released, intending to use it as the foundation for a fourth instalment. 

Now, modifying a standalone story into a sequel can feel forced. Luckily, On Stranger Tides didn't have that problem since Powers' book harboured the DNA of the Pirates of the Caribbean mythos. Many key aspects didn't need to be altered, since the swashbuckling tale follows a pirate called Jack who faces off against zombies, mermaids, and Blackbeard while searching for The Fountain of Youth. The protagonist was nothing like Jack Sparrow, but the dynamic between the characters and the conflict that jettisons the whole narrative was virtually identical.

The whole situation felt like fate, since the producers planned to make Blackbeard the antagonist of Pirates 4 before stumbling upon On Stranger Tides. With The Fountain of Youth sub-plot set up from the previous film's conclusion, the stars couldn't have aligned more perfectly while devising Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.