Will Turner

William "Will" Turner Jr., is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by Orlando Bloom, and is also one of the main characters. Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal. He is in love with Elizabeth Swann the governor's daughter, a woman he can never attain due to his inferior social rank. Will is the best swordsman in the trilogy, although he lacks actual combat experience compared to swordsmen like Jack Sparrow, who understands that there are no rules when fighting for one's life. Although mild-mannered, Will is fiercely loyal to those he cares about and would risk everything when they, especially Elizabeth, are in danger. At his best, Will is clever, heroic and courageous. He can also be preoccupied and brooding.

Character history

Will's name for the movie was to be William Bear, but the writers changed it because there were already too many characters (Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann) with animal surnames. Whereas the other names are a direct reference to the characters, Will is named after the ornithologist William Turner, much like another Ornithologist-inspired hero, James Bond. However, there were other notable real-life people with this name, including the captain of the doomed RMS Lusitania, torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Also, a William Turner was the sole survivor of a ship wreck. In Pirates 1 and 2, Will is the only survivor of a wrecked ship. Turner is a common English surname derived from furniture makers who used a lathe to turn wood, shaping it into decorative forms. A writer claims he created the Will Turner character, saying he sent a script to Disney that was rejected. However, this has never been substantiated.

Appearance

Will's final costume in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is reminiscent of Errol Flynn's swashbuckler movie roles. There is also a nod to Douglas Fairbanks when Turner uses his knife to glide down the ship's sail in Dead Man's Chest, just as Fairbanks did in the 1926 film, The Black Pirate.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl when Turner and Jack are fighting in the blacksmith's shop, there is a glimpse of Orlando Bloom's wrist tattoo of the Elvish word for "nine."(which just adds to his totally hotness!) Bloom and the eight actors who comprised the "Fellowship of the Ring" in The Lord of the Rings trilogy all have this tattoo to commemorate their participation in the films.

Fictional Biography

Early Life

Will is the only child of the pirate, "Bootstrap Bill" Turner. According to Jack Sparrow, he strongly resembles his father, both in appearance and physical ability. However, his father was absent during his childhood in England, and Will grew up believing him to be a merchant seaman. After his mother's death, Will, age 12, journeyed to the Caribbean to search for him. Ironically, his vessel was attacked and sunk by the Black Pearl, the same pirate ship his father once served on, although not when it attacked Will's ship, and now under the command of Captain Hector Barbossa.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a young Will Turner, the sole survivor of a pirate attack, is rescued by a British naval ship. On board is Lieutenant James Norrington, an officer in the British Royal Navy. Also aboard is Port Royal's new governor, Weatherby Swann, and his daughter Elizabeth, 12. It is Elizabeth who spots Will among the floating debris, and he is placed under her care for the duration of the voyage. When Elizabeth discovers a rather pirate-esque gold medallion around his neck, she hides it to prevent anyone from mistaking him as a pirate. Over the next eight years, Will and Elizabeth develop a tentative friendship. This attachment apparently blossoms into romantic aspirations, but due to their class distinctions, Will conceals his true feelings for Elizabeth, although her emotions appear more obvious.

In Port Royal, Will becomes a blacksmith's apprentice and a craftsman of fine swords, although it is his oft-drunken master who usually receives credit for Will's exquisite workmanship. Will is also an exceptional swordsman but lacks practical fighting experience. Although technically superior, Will is bested in a sword fight by Captain Jack Sparrow because Will insists on following "the rules of engagement," allowing Sparrow to outwit him. When Will later admonishes Jack for cheating and says he would have killed him in a fair fight, Jack retorts, "That's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?" He impresses upon the naïve young man that the only rules that matter are, "What a man can do, and what a man can't do." It is a lesson Will is unlikely to forget.

In a fateful twist of irony, Will, a peaceful and law-abiding man, learns his father was the pirate "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, who served aboard the Black Pearl when it was commanded by Captain Jack Sparrow. When First Mate Barbossa and the crew mutinied and marooned Sparrow on a deserted island, only Bootstrap defended him. After finding the Chest of Cortez containing Aztec gold, the pirates fell under an ancient curse that left them as "walking dead." To break the curse, every coin must be returned to the chest. Believing the crew deserved to remain cursed for betraying Jack, Bootstrap sent a gold medallion to his son, Will. In retaliation, Captain Barbossa had Bootstrap tied to a cannon (humorously enough, by his bootstraps) and thrown overboard. Barbossa and the crew later discovered that every man, including Bootstrap, also needed to offer their blood to break the curse. With Bootstrap sitting on the ocean floor, only Will can provide Turner blood.

Even though Will despises pirates, he resorts to piracy and forms an alliance with Jack Sparrow when Barbossa kidnaps Elizabeth, and Commodore Norrington fails to take effective action. Will helps Jack commandeer a royal navy ship, and they sail to Isla de Muerta to rescue her. Unknown to Will, Jack intends to use Will's blood to bargain with the cursed pirates to get back the Black Pearl. When Will learns Jack's true motive and his own role in lifting the curse, he barters himself to Barbossa to free Elizabeth and the crew. In the end, Jack and Will lift the curse; Barbossa is killed and his crew is defeated. To repay Jack for helping him and believing he's being unjustly executed, Will risks his own life to save him from the gallows. Will declares his love for Elizabeth, and she for him. Jack escapes by falling off the rampart wall into the bay and is hauled aboard the Black Pearl, which has arrived just in time.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Will returns with the other main characters from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. His appearance is more pirate-like, reminiscent of Errol Flynn's swashbuckler movie characters, and reflects Will's evolution from naïve boy to world-wise man. For aiding Jack Sparrow's escape, Will and Elizabeth are arrested just prior to their wedding ceremony by Lord Cutler Beckett, a man made wealthy and powerful by profits from the East India Trading Company. Beckett offers them clemency if Will finds Sparrow's compass. He also has a Letter of Marque with which to recruit Jack as a privateer.

While Elizabeth is in jail, Will frantically searches for the Black Pearl. He finds the crew captive on Pelegosto, a cannibal-inhabited island. They escape, and Jack agrees to give Will the compass if he helps him find a key, although he has no idea what it unlocks. Will, Jack, and the crew row upriver to see Tia Dalma, a voodoo priestess. She takes a particular interest in Will, whose name she already knows and says he has a touch of destiny about him. Tia tells Jack the key is to the Dead Man's Chest containing the heart of Davy Jones. Whoever possesses the heart controls Davy Jones and the seas. The crew searches for Davy Jones, but Will soon finds himself stranded on a wrecked vessel that Jack deviously claimed was Jones' ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman. When the real Flying Dutchman suddenly arrives, Jack attempts to barter Will to Davy Jones to repay his debt, but Jones refuses, saying one soul is not equal to another. Instead, he keeps Will and demands an additional ninety-nine souls, otherwise Jack must surrender or face the Kraken. Sparrow made a bargain with Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the ocean bottom and make Jack captain for thirteen years. Sparrow would then serve aboard the Dutchman for one hundred years.

Aboard the Dutchman, Will meets his father, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, who is now an indentured sailor on the Jones' ghost ship. Will challenges Davy Jones to Liar's Dice, a game of deception, betting his soul against the key to the Dead Man's Chest. Bootstrap joins in and purposely loses to free Will, although he is now eternally enslaved. That night, Will steals the key and escapes in a longboat, vowing to one day free his father. A passing ship rescues him, but Jones commands the Kraken to destroy it. Will survives and stows back aboard the Dutchman, now headed for Isla Cruces where the chest containing Jones' heart is buried.

When Will arrives, he finds Jack Sparrow and is reunited with Elizabeth, who escaped from jail. Also there is ex-Commodore James Norrington, now a member of Jack's crew. They find the chest, and key in hand, Will intends to stab the heart to kill Davy Jones. But he finds himself at the point of Jack's sword and caught in a three-way duel between himself, Sparrow and Norrington, all claiming the heart. Jack manages to get the heart, but Norrington steals it and the Letter of Marque and escapes just as Davy Jones' men attack.

The Black Pearl sets sail and outruns the Flying Dutchman, but Davy Jones summons the Kraken. Drawing on his previous experience fighting the monster, Will leads the crew in temporarily in fending it off, giving them time to abandon ship. Realizing the Kraken is only after Sparrow, Elizabeth distracts him with a passionate kiss while handcuffing him to the mast. Will witnesses this and believes Elizabeth now loves Sparrow. From the longboat, the crew watches as the Kraken drags the Pearl and Sparrow beneath the sea.

Will, Elizabeth, and the crew seek refuge from Tia Dalma. As they mourn their captain, Will is particularly despondent, although not only over Elizabeth and Jack. Tia understands his despair—with the Black Pearl Will could defeat Davy Jones and free his father. When Gibbs proposes a toast to Jack, Will glumly raises his mug. Seeing Elizabeth's tearful face and believing she loves Sparrow, he tries comforting her. "If anything could be done. . ." Tia Dalma interrupts, asking would he be willing, would they all be willing, to travel to World's End to return Jack and the Black Pearl. All agree, including Will. Tia Dalma says they will need a captain who knows those waters. To their astonishment, a resurrected Captain Barbossa descends the stairs.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

File:Will Scar.JPG

Will at the Flying Dutchman's helm

Turner journeys to the World's End with Elizabeth, Barbossa, Tia Dalma, and the rest of the Black Pearl's crew to rescue Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker.

In the trailer, Will is seen captive in Sao Feng's bathhouse (as confirmed in the junior novilization) and fighting with the other pirates in a battle near a whirlpool. In the midst of the battle, he again asks Elizabeth to marry him, to which she replies, "I don't think now is the best time!" (However, fans point out that Elizabeth's response may actually be from another scene, as the backround and setting are suddenly different).

Also in the trailer, Will Turner is listed after James Norrington as one of the Enemies United. It is possible that he is simply between the Pirate Lords and the Enemies United, but there is a notable break separating the two. His image appears with the words "vowed to destroy us," so the image of Will being held captive may pertain to that. He is also seen standing with Cutler Beckett and Davy Jones while facing Elizabeth, Jack and Barbossa on a beach, because he tried to lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove, the location of the Brethren of the Coast by using bodies strapped to barrels but Sparrow "pushes" him off, and he floats towards the Endeavour.

A new trailer for the movie titled Characters, shows Will talking to Davy Jones in a ship's cabin, dangling Jack's Compass in front of Beckett and asking "What is it you want most?"

In a leaked clip, Elizabeth and Barbossa are bargaining with Sao Feng while Will is seen being held captive in the background. Whether or not he is actually captive by Sao Feng or Barbossa is unknown. Although in the movie novel he is because he tried to steal some charts for the crew.

Will nearly dies in the climatic battle scene as Davy Jones stabbed him in the chest, however, Jack and Elizabeth use his hand to lift a sword to pierce the heart of Davy Jones, killing him and rendering Will the captain of the Flying Dutchman, and unable to die.

After the end credits we see Will return to Elizabeth ten years after he left to captain the Flying Dutchman. It is learned the two have a son who is ten years-old to the day and is also named William.

Skills and abilities

Will Turner is depicted as being the best swordsman in the Pirates trilogy. He defeats Jack Sparrow in single combat, but loses due to Jack's ability to break the rules of engagement, an unthinkable concept to Will at the time. He is also shown fighting multiple opponents (ie. on the Isle de Muerta, as well as Jack and Norrington) and holding his own in at least the first two installments and likely will again in the third. Will attributes his abilities to practicing three hours a day, as well as actually crafting many, many swords. As evidenced by Elizabeth's new swordfighting abilities in Dead Man's Chest, Will is also an excellent teacher in the art of swordplay.

Despite having no intention of becoming a pirate at the begining of the series, Will has established himself as been quite a capable man. Initially he was an innocent who fought by the rules and had a habit of behaving rather rashly or making a fool of himself (such as shouting 'avast' when trying to take the Intercepter). However later on he is shown to be able to pick up on situations quickly and plan ahead. His leadership skills and natural charisma are such that he was able to immediatly take command when the Kraken attacked the Pearl with no crewmembers (even Gibbs the unoffical first mate) challenging him.

Will also seems to have a penchant for surviving the total destruction or sinking of a ship, as shown in five separate incidents in the first two films of the trilogy:

• Survives the destruction of The Princess while crossing from England by floating on a piece of wood. This ship is destroyed by the crew of the Black Pearl who light the powder magazine in the beginning of Curse of the Black Pearl.
• Later in the same movie, the HMS Intercepter is destroyed in a similar fashion while Will is trapped below decks. He apparently finds a sizable hole in the hull and climbs aboard the Black Pearl seconds after the remains of the Intercepter sink below the waves.
• After being rescued by the crew of the Edinburgh Trader in Dead Man's Chest, following his relatively brief stay aboard the Flying Dutchman, Will Turner is the target of Davy Jones' beast, the Kraken. The creature consumes much of the crew and pulls the ship down to the depths. Will survives by avoiding the tentacles and, again, clinging to a piece of wood.
• Following the attack on the Edinburgh Trader, Will reboards the Flying Dutchman, resting in the strange decoration on the bow of the ship. As it apporoaches it's destination, Isle Cruces, the ship sinks at the crew's command. Will resurfaces, alive and well on the island, finding Jack, Elizabeth and Norrington.
• Finally, as the Kraken claims the Black Pearl and her captain, Jack Sparrow, Will and the remaining crew manage to get into the last surviving lifeboat and escape the tentacles and crushing maw.

Other appearances

Will Turner appears in the Pirates of the Caribbean world, Port Royal, of Kingdom Hearts II. In the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts II as well as in the movies he's voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa, who was also the Japanese voice for Legolas, another famous character portrayed by Bloom. Crispin Freeman provided the voice of Will for the U.S. version of the game since Orlando Bloom was unavailable due to the filming of Dead Man's Chest. Freeman was also the voice of Will in the video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.

Hero Journey

Will is on a Hero's Journey or Monomyth in the Pirates of the Caribbean Series. In that regard he is comparable to Harry Potter, Eragon and Luke Skywalker

External Links

• William Turner at the Pirates of the Caribbean wiki