Pirates of the Caribbean Watching Order

This watching order is designed to give an outline of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. It explains what order to watch the movies and looks at any connections between them.

Jump to: Original Trilogy – Sequels

Original Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy

The entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starts with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). This movie introduces the franchise’s main characters, setting, and plot.

The first three films in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise are heavily connected to one another and form a trilogy. This trilogy centers around the same main cast of characters and follows a singular narrative. It starts with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), continues in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), and concludes in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007).

Notes

1. This is a short film that ties in to this trilogy. Technically, it takes place immediately before the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and serves as a direct prelude to that film. However, it was released much later and relies on fans already being familiar with Captain Jack Sparrow. Therefore, we've placed it later in this watching order.

Jack Sparrow Sequels

The films released after the original trilogy still take place in the same world and serve as direct sequels to the original films. However, they mostly focus on Jack Sparrow's adventures, rather than Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann.

These films currently include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Like the other Pirates films, these should be watched in release order. A post-credits scene from Dead Men Tell No Tales gives these sequels further ties to the original trilogy and indicate that additional films could be on the way.

All Watching Orders