27

In Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, while carrying one of the Aztec medallion, why were Will and Elizabeth not cursed in the same way others were?

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
25

The curse is more than just about stealing the coins. The motivations of the thief are involved.

Will and Elizabeth do not steal the gold out of greed like Barbossa's crew or Jack.

From the script

BARBOSSA (CONT'D): So the priest, with his dying breath, called on the power of the blood of his people, and put on the gold a curse. If anyone took so much as a single piece, as he was compelled by greed, by greed he would be consumed

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    That's interesting because Jack didn't steal the coin out of want of the gold itself, so is it his desire to get the Black Pearl back that counts as greed here?
    – Alan
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 21:11
  • 3
    Jack's driving desire across all the movies are greed and immortality. He didn't want riches, necessarily, but he was stealing the coin for his own selfish reasons. Stealing the coin and being cursed was a means to getting the Pearl back. Elizabeth stole it from Will in an attempt to help/save him.
    – phantom42
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 21:14
  • It also needs to be noted that Gore Verbinksi re-crafted a LOT of story on the fly both during shooting and during editing. The scripts available online that I've found are not the original shooting scripts.
    – phantom42
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 21:16
28

It wasn't just carrying the coins that caused the curse, it was the act of stealing it from the Aztec treasure chest.

When Jack Sparrow wanted to be cursed, he lifted a coin out of the chest, thereby stealing it and being cursed.

Improve this answer
4
  • 6
    But Elizabeth also steals it ?
    – Our
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 9:54
  • 11
    She didn't steal it from the chest.
    – Michael Richardson
    Commented May 8, 2016 at 19:29
  • 4
    This is also confirmed by the fact that there aren't legions of undead roaming the land because people happened to touch one of the coins. The pirates spent a lot of them before the curse grew in strength and then spent years recovering them.
    – user42419
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 10:15
  • 2
    @MichaelRichardson she stole it from Wills chest
    – DickieBoy
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 11:06
9

It was in the films made clear a few times that those that GOT the gold by any means were not cursed. Only those that stole them from the chest got cursed (which is why Sparrow despite him not doing it out of greed got cursed when he took the coin from the chest).

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.