In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Will Turner returns as a major character, but his fate is tied directly to the resolution of his curse and his role as captain of the Flying Dutchman.

What happens to Will in the movie

  • Will is still bound to the Flying Dutchman, ferrying souls of the drowned to the afterlife, as he was in At World’s End.
  • He appears in a spectral form when his son, Henry Turner, reaches out to him, and he briefly returns to the mortal world to help fight against Captain Salazar and his crew.

How his curse is resolved

  • Henry discovers a prophecy that the Trident of Poseidon can break all sea curses, including the Flying Dutchman’s.
  • When the Trident is destroyed, all sea‑related curses are lifted , which effectively frees Will from his duty as captain of the Flying Dutchman.

Where Will ends up by the end

  • With the curse broken and Salazar defeated, Will is no longer bound to the ship and can live a normal life on land.
  • The film implies that Will finally reunites with Elizabeth Swann and their son, Henry, in Port Royal, suggesting he leaves his pirate‑captain role behind to be with his family.

So, by the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 5 , Will Turner is alive, freed from the Flying Dutchman curse, and able to stay with Elizabeth and Henry , effectively retiring from his decade‑long supernatural duty at sea.