Jim Carrey almost played the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

When Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl released in theaters in 2003, I didn’t expect it to become one of Disney’s biggest franchises.

But first Johnny Depp he swaggered onto the screen as the rum-soaked, producer Captain Jack Sparrow Jerry Bruckheimer he had another great star in mind, Jim Carrey.

At the time, Disney wasn’t exactly sure about turning theme park rides into blockbuster films. The studio had already come across Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars AND Country bearsand the failures were enough to become the then CEO Michael Eisner rethink the entire strategy.

Bruckheimer, however, saw something special in the script Ted Elliott AND Terry Rossio. He believed it The Curse of the Black Pearl it had real potential and he thought Carrey was the perfect actor to bring it to life.

According to Vulture, the producer “felt strongly that he had found a star capable of swaggering as Captain Jack Sparrow in Jim Carrey.”

At the time, casting Carrey meant an almost guaranteed box office hit. The comedy icon was fresh off blockbuster series and was one of Hollywood’s most bankable names.

A version of Pirates of the Caribbean led by Carrey seems crazy to imagine now, but it could have easily happened if not for a scheduling conflict.

Carrey was already set to star in The Weeknd, another 2003 smash hit that would earn $485 million worldwide. That project kept him from wearing Sparrow’s tricorn hat, and the rest is movie history.

However, imagining Carrey as Captain Jack is fascinating. The actor’s manic physicality and gift for slapstick probably would have given the film a completely different energy.

“Carrey is a gifted physical actor, but he probably would have done a wide variation on a classic swashbuckler like Errol Flynn. He never had the athleticism of Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas, so it’s safe to say that his Jack Sparrow would have given Verbinski’s film a very different tone: more ‘Looney Tunes’ than ‘Captain Blood.'”

Carrey wasn’t the only one in contention for the role either. They also considered Gore Verbinski and Bruckheimer Michael Keaton AND Christopher Walken. The Walken-led Pirates may have been unforgettable for a variety of reasons, but the filmmakers were looking for something a little edgier.

They found that spark in Depp, who shocked everyone when he came to the first table to read while channeling Keith Richards.

Depp’s unusual take turned out to be movie magic, and it helped The Curse of the Black Pearl launch one of the biggest movie franchises of the 2000s. Meanwhile, Carrey scored huge success with Bruce Almighty before winning critical acclaim a year later Eternal sun of the immaculate mind.

In the end, things worked out perfectly for everyone involved. Depp became a movie icon and Carrey was able to follow up a successful comedy with one of the most beloved films of his career.

Still, imagining Carrey making his way across the Caribbean seas is a fun “what if” that makes movie history a little more interesting.