Dead Man's Chest

Lore & Background

Davy Jones was once a human being. Unable to bear the pain of losing his true love, he carved out his heart and put it into the Dead Man's Chest, then buried it in a secret location. He has become a bizarre creature – part octopus, part crab, part man – and collects the souls of dead or dying sailors to serve aboard his ship for one hundred years. The chest holds Jones' still-beating heart; whoever has it can control Jones. Tia Dalma, a voodoo priestess, explains the legend of Davy Jones and owns a similar locket to his. Bootstrap Bill Turner, Will's father, sold his soul to Davy Jones to alleviate his eternal suffering after being tied to a cannon and thrown overboard by Barbossa.

In Their Own Story

About one year after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann helped Captain Jack Sparrow escape from Port Royal, their wedding is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who arrives with arrest warrants. Jack made a deal with Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the depths and 13 years as captain, a debt Jack must repay by now serving aboard the Dutchman or he will be dragged into Davy Jones' Locker by the Kraken. Will finds Jack's crew on an island, helps them escape from a tribe of cannibals, and makes a deal with Jack to find the key to the Dead Man's Chest in return for Jack's compass. Will is tricked into servitude with Jones' cursed crew aboard the Dutchman in Jack's stead, while Jones agrees to free Jack if he can provide 99 more souls in three days. After a three-way sword fight on Isla Cruces, James Norrington secretly steals the heart and the Letters of Marque. Jones sends the Kraken to attack the Pearl, and Elizabeth chains Jack to the mast so the crew can escape while the Kraken drags Jack and the Pearl to the depths. Norrington gives Beckett the Letters and Jones's heart, reinstating Norrington in the Navy and allowing Beckett to gain control of Jones, the Dutchman, and the Kraken. Jack's crew return to Tia Dalma, who introduces their guide: Hector Barbossa, who has been resurrected.

Reader's Guide

The narrative picks up about one year after the first film. Captain Jack Sparrow is hunted by the Kraken because of his unpaid debt to Davy Jones. He is also searching for the Dead Man's Chest to free himself from Jones' servitude. Will Turner strikes a deal with Cutler Beckett to find Jack Sparrow and his compass so he can save both himself and his fiancée Elizabeth from execution. Elizabeth is arrested on her wedding day for helping Captain Jack Sparrow escape. She escapes jail with help from her father, meets up with Jack in Tortuga, and joins his crew to search for both Will and the chest. The key to the chest is possessed by Davy Jones himself, and Will learns this through a game of Liar's Dice aboard the Dutchman. All parties arrive on Isla Cruces, where the chest is buried. A three-way sword fight breaks out between Jack, Will, and Norrington, who all want the heart for their respective goals: Jack to negate his debt to Jones and call off the Kraken; Will to free his father from the Dutchman; and Norrington to regain his life as a Navy officer. The film concludes with Jack dragged to the depths by the Kraken, and Barbossa revealed to have been resurrected by Tia Dalma.

Did You Know?

• The film had a production budget of $225 million, making it the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release.
• It was shot back-to-back with the third film of the series, At World's End (2007).
• The film broke the opening-weekend record in the United States with $136 million.
• It became the fastest film to gross over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, doing so in 63 days.
• The film won Best Visual Effects at the 79th Academy Awards.