how to watch pirates of the caribbean in order

To watch Pirates of the Caribbean in order, start with the main five films in release (and story) order, and optionally slot in one short film before movie 1.

Core movie watch order

This is the straightforward way most fans recommend:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

These were released in this order and also flow cleanly in-universe, especially as a trilogy for movies 1–3.

Chronological “complete” order

If you want to include the main canon short film, fans often use this order:

• Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (short film, 2011, set just before movie 1)

• Then watch the five movies in the same order as above.

This short explains a bit of backstory for characters in the opening of Curse of the Black Pearl , but is totally optional for a first watch.

Release order vs “special” fan orders

Most guides and fan discussions say there’s no wild alternate cut like with Star Wars ; release order is considered the intended viewing path.

Some forum fans play around with “even/odd” or “trilogy only” marathons (1–3 as a self-contained story, then 4–5 as extra Jack Sparrow adventures), but those are more for rewatches than for a first run.

Where “latest news” and forum talk fit

• Recent articles and videos in 2023–2024 still present this same five-film order as the correct way to watch, sometimes adding trivia, runtimes, and ratings but not changing the sequence.

• On forums like Reddit’s r/piratesofthecaribbean , the most upvoted answers to “what’s the watch order?” match the list above and only occasionally add the Wedlocked short at the front.

Simple HTML table for quick reference

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>#</th>
      <th>Title</th>
      <th>Year</th>
      <th>Type</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>0 (optional)</td>
      <td>Tales of the Code: Wedlocked</td>
      <td>2011</td>
      <td>Short film</td>
      <td>Set just before Curse of the Black Pearl [web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>1</td>
      <td>Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl</td>
      <td>2003</td>
      <td>Feature film</td>
      <td>Start here for any first watch [web:1][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2</td>
      <td>Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest</td>
      <td>2006</td>
      <td>Feature film</td>
      <td>Direct sequel to Black Pearl [web:1][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3</td>
      <td>Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End</td>
      <td>2007</td>
      <td>Feature film</td>
      <td>Closes the original trilogy [web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>4</td>
      <td>Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides</td>
      <td>2011</td>
      <td>Feature film</td>
      <td>More standalone Jack Sparrow adventure [web:1][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5</td>
      <td>Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales</td>
      <td>2017</td>
      <td>Feature film</td>
      <td>Latest film, continues Jack’s story [web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR: Watch in release order (1–5), optionally add Tales of the Code: Wedlocked right before Curse of the Black Pearl if you want one extra bit of canon backstory.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.