Pirates Of The Caribbean: Will & Elizabeth's Relationship Timeline, Movie By Movie (2024)

While the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies have a pretty convoluted plot, the turbulent love story of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is comparatively easy for viewers to follow. The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise began in 2003 with The Curse of the Black Pearl. Although Johnny Depp’s memorable turn in the original movie soon turned his supporting character, Jack Sparrow, into the face of the franchise, The Curse of the Black Pearl’s plot mainly focused on Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner and Kieran Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann. Turner fell for Swann even though, as a blacksmith, he knew that it would take a miracle for him to woo a governor’s daughter.

Fortunately for Will, that miracle arrived. Thus, Will and Elizabeth embarked on a love story that spanned across the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with the fifth installment of the series leaving the pair in a difficult position thanks to its post-credits stinger that could affect Pirates of the Caribbean 6's story. Throughout these five movies, Elizabeth and Jack enjoy a short-lived happy ending, survive a brief battle with what looks like infidelity, and are eventually burdened with a tragic curse. However, the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie lifted this curse, only to land the pair with another trial thanks to a forgotten villain.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Will Meets Elizabeth

In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth was taken hostage by Captain Barbossa and the crew of the Black Pearl. Elizabeth’s betrothed, Commodore Norrington, set out to save her. However, he was too late. The heroes of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie, including the resilient Elizabeth, had already defeated Barbossa and his zombie pirates. Jack Sparrow escaped the gallows when the trio returned to shore, and Norrington glumly accepted that he had been bested in the quest for Elizabeth’s affections by the humble blacksmith Will. All seemed well in The Curse of the Black Pearl’s ending as Elizabeth and Will were left happily together.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Elizabeth & Jack’s Dalliance

However, 2006’s Dead Man’s Chest proved that Will and Elizabeth’s love story, and its attendant trials and tribulations, was only just beginning. Will and Elizabeth prepared to wed when they were arrested for their part in Jack’s escape. Will was allowed to leave in exchange for finding Jack’s magic compass and bringing it to the East India Company, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise’s real-life villains. This was where things grew convoluted, as Elizabeth soon escaped to Tortuga in search of Will but instead ended up working with Jack to save Will from Davy Jones. Like his father, Bootstrap Bill, Will was trapped on Jones’s ship, the Flying Dutchman.

This led to a battle between Jack’s crew and Davy Jones wherein Jones’s pet Kraken tore apart Jack’s boat. Although she felt guilty about it, Elizabeth tricked Jack into sacrificing himself to the Kraken by kissing him to distract him. This misled Will, who witnessed the kiss but not the preceding plan, into thinking that Elizabeth had feelings for Will. Ironically, Elizabeth only sacrificed Jack to save Will and the rest of the crew, but she ended up feeling so guilty that she asked Tia Dalma to raise Barbossa from the dead so that the crew could rescue Jack from death.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End

Will & Elizabeth’s Tragic Ending

As the story of At World’s End began, Jack was rescued by Will and Elizabeth. However, the supporting star was quick to note that the couple were on frosty terms. Elizabeth and Will put their relationship issues on ice while they assembled the Nine Pirates Lords to defeat Pirates of the Caribbean villain Cutler Beckett and the East India Company that he commanded. While aboard Sao Feng’s ship, Elizabeth witnessed the death of the Pirate Lord at the hands of the Flying Dutchman. Sao Feng bequeathed her his title, and she became the King of the Brethren Court when the Pirates Lords finally met.

This came at a great time for Elizabeth and Will’s relationship as the pair were wed aboard the ship during the original trilogy’s big final battle. However, moments later, tragedy struck as Davy Jones stabbed Will. Will finally stabbed Jones in the heart, killing the otherwise immortal pirate but simultaneously cursing himself to become the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. Will’s heart was placed in the same chest where Davy Jones once kept his while Will and Elizabeth enjoyed their last day together for ten years. The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, revealed that they conceived a child during this brief window.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Will & Elizabeth's Fates Are Unknown

While At World’s End was a far darker ending for the original trilogy than many fans anticipated, 2011’s On Stranger Tides took the franchise in another direction entirely. The tone of the third sequel was much lighter and sillier as this incredibly expensive critical misfire focused on Jack’s wacky antics while sidelining the rest of the franchise’s recurring characters. This meant that On Stranger Tides didn’t feature any appearances from Elizabeth and Will, with Will presumably acting as the Flying Dutchman’s captain while the movie took place. Meanwhile, viewers can only assume that Elizabeth was busy raising their child offscreen.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Will & Elizabeth Are Reunited At Last

Although Dead Men Tell No Tales featured a highly hyped reunion between Elizabeth and Will, this dialogue-light cameo came as a disappointment to many longtime franchise fans. However, the appearance did wrap up their story. Will and Elizabeth’s son Henry saw his father once when he was ten since Will was allowed to return to dry land for a day. However, by the age of twenty-two, Henry was joining the Navy, and Will was somehow still stuck as the Flying Dutchman’s cursed captain. The sequel didn’t go out of its way to explain the plot mechanics of this twist, instead simply setting up a convenient ending for the hero.

Will and Elizabeth’s son Henry joined Jack on an adventure that ended when he destroyed the Trident of Poseidon. This broke any curses that had been placed on the sea, including Will’s captaincy of the Flying Dutchman. As a result, Will arrived home to his wife for the first time in years and was finally able to live peacefully with Elizabeth at the end of Dead Men Tell No Tales. At least, this seemed to be the case until the movie’s post-credits stinger revealed that the spirit of Davy Jones was still somehow targeting Will and Elizabeth even after the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie’s ending.