Claim: Pirates of the Caribbean is set in a fictional historical setting.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney 's theme park ride of the same name .   Directors of the series include Gore Verbinski -LRB- 1 -- 3 -RRB- , Rob Marshall -LRB- 4 -RRB- , and Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg -LRB- 5 -RRB- . The series is primarily written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio -LRB- 1 -- 4 -RRB- ; other writers include Stuart Beattie -LRB- 1 -RRB- , Jay Wolpert -LRB- 1 -RRB- , and Jeff Nathanson -LRB- 5 -RRB- . The stories follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow -LRB- Johnny Depp -RRB- , Will Turner -LRB- Orlando Bloom -RRB- , and Elizabeth Swann -LRB- Keira Knightley -RRB- . Characters such as Hector Barbossa -LRB- Geoffrey Rush -RRB- and Joshamee Gibbs -LRB- Kevin McNally -RRB- follow Jack , Will , and Elizabeth in the course of the films . The fourth film features Blackbeard -LRB- Ian McShane -RRB- and Angelica -LRB- Penélope Cruz -RRB- , while the fifth film features Armando Salazar -LRB- Javier Bardem -RRB- , Henry Turner -LRB- Brenton Thwaites -RRB- and Carina Smyth -LRB- Kaya Scodelario -RRB- . The films take place in a fictional historical setting ; a world ruled by the British Empire , the East India Trading Company -LRB- based on the real East India Company -RRB- , and the Spanish Empire , with pirates representing freedom from the ruling powers .   The film series started in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl , which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed US$ 654 million worldwide . After the first film 's success , Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works . The franchise 's second film , subtitled Dead Man 's Chest , was released three years later in 2006 ; the sequel proved successful , breaking financial records worldwide the day of its premiere . Dead Man 's Chest ended up being the number one film of the year upon earning almost $ 1.1 billion at the worldwide box office . The third film in the series , subtitled At World 's End , followed in 2007 , and Disney released a fourth film , subtitled On Stranger Tides , in 2011 in conventional 2D , Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D . On Stranger Tides succeeded in also grossing more than $ 1 billion , becoming the second film in the franchise and only the eighth film in history to achieve this .   So far , the film franchise has grossed $ 4 billion worldwide ; it is the ninth highest-grossing film series of all-time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $ 1 billion worldwide .