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My second and final Hawaii week installment has Disney promising a swashbuckling adventure in Hawaii’s tropical paradise. Executives at Disney have announced that the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie will be filmed in Hawaii.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will begin filming this summer on Oahu and Kauai. It’s slated for release in 2011, likely in the summer.
Few details are known yet for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” The movie is a confirmed adaptation, in places, of the 1988 historical fantasy novel “On Stranger Tides” by Tim Powers.
The main plot point in the movie that’s drawn from the novel is a quest for the Fountain of Youth. The novel takes place primarily in the Caribbean, so that leaves us with no clues as to whether “Pirates” 4 will take place partially in Hawaii or if it is just being filmed there.
The only confirmed setting for the film is New Orleans, where the movie opens. This isn’t the first time Disney’s headed to Hawaii for a “Pirates” film. Bits of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (the third installment) were filmed in Hawaii, on Maui and Molokai.
“Disney’s long-term commitment to Hawai‘i — from ABC’s ‘LOST’ to the new Disney resort on O‘ahu scheduled to open in 2011, and now the upcoming filming of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ — is a testament to the company’s confidence in our state as a great place to do business,“ said Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.
Actors Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom will not reprise their roles as Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, respectively, for the latest “Pirates” installment. Both said in interviews that they felt their characters’ story ended with “At World’s End.”
Instead, the movie will focus on Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbosa teaming up in search of the Fountain of Youth. According to some reports of the film, the villain will be a Captain Nemo-style character who sports steam technology advanced for the age.
This represents a shift in tone for the “Pirates” films, which previously featured more fantasy, magic, and mythology. Instead, if these reports are to be believed, “On Stranger Tides” would be more steam punk than traditional fantasy.
Steam punk is a sub-genre of sci-fi/fantasy centering around the use of steam-powered technology. It could either involve steam technology employed in a more futuristic setting, or have that technology present in a fictional past before such techniques were invented in the real world.
I didn’t like the use of gods and otherworldly mythology in the latter two “Pirates” films, and I’m not looking forward to the possible steam punk elements in the fourth. Although I love both genres, I felt like “Pirates” was at its strongest when it stuck to the type of fantasy most frequently found in swashbuckling stories: ancient curses and elements of voodoo.
But no matter how the final story turns out, I know that “On Stranger Tides” will whisk me away to exotic locales through its gorgeous scenery. Given that I’m currently settling in at home for another blizzard, a silly pirate romp through the islands of Hawaii sounds perfect right about now.
Related Articles:
Disney Resort to Open in Hawaii
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Review
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
“Dreams Come True” in New Orleans
Unlock Your Favorite Films with Disney KeyChest
*(This image by Kevin has a camera is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
