Did the PotC movies directly influence Wizkids in making DJC and OE?

[Ben]

Did the PotC movies directly influence Wizkids in making DJC and OE?

This is something I’ve wondered about.  The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out in 2003, and the first set of Pirates CSG came out in 2004.  Then we had Dead Man’s Chest in 2006, coinciding with Davy Jones’ Curse.  However, DJC came out first.  Similarly in 2007, At Ocean’s Edge came out in April, followed by the At World’s End movie in May.

I feel like there was definitely some influence, but the timing shows that Wizkids was actually “first” (before Disney) with some of the concepts. (such as the parallel between whirlpools and the maelstrom in AWE)  It would be crazy if they were actually collaborating BEFORE the PotC set!

Let’s hear what people think about this!

[Woelf]

Let’s see if it lets me post, or if this will get blocked as soon as I hit submit…

Those sets were most definitely influenced by the movies.   You can see it by comparing the sets before DJC to the ones after.  The prior ones were still mostly going for realism (fictionalized, but plausible), but then in DJC and after the franchise took a sharp detour into the supernatural (sea creatures, The Cursed, etc.), and it’s no coincidence that it happened right around the same time those movies landed.    You can’t blame WK for jumping on that bandwagon – it obviously helped with sales, and spiked interest in the game.

What I don’t know is if WK reached out to Disney or Disney contacted WK, or when that happened, but it was almost certainly after DJC.   My guess is that a Disney legal team was scouring the internet for anything that might possibly infringe upon their movies when they came across the WK stuff, but instead of automatically throwing a C&D at them, someone had the smart idea to collaborate.

[Ben]

Let’s see if it lets me post, or if this will get blocked as soon as I hit submit…

I’m seeing it, so you’re good!

Great to hear your thoughts on it.  People at the Facebook group were a bit more skeptical, so I’ll have to link to this over there.  It makes a lot of sense, and makes me wonder about OE specifically….

[Author]

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