Getting the chance to appear in a blockbuster franchise can do wonders for a performer's career, and because of this, these roles are almost impossible to land. Being in the MCU or Star Wars can change everything in a second, and while one is good, two franchises are even better.
Orlando Bloom has had a wildly successful career in Hollywood, and this largely stems from starring in two different franchises. His time in the Pirates franchise was amazing for fans to enjoy, but Bloom skipped out on appearing in the franchise's fourth film, which caught some fans off guard.
So, why did Orlando Bloom pass on being in On Stranger Tides? Let's take a closer look and learn why he chose to move on.
Orlando Bloom Has Starred In Multiple Franchises
It's always amazing to see a performer land in more than one major franchise, and during the 2000s, Orlando Bloom was making big things happen back when he was starring in both the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. These movies helped make him a global star in no time
In the Lord of the Rings franchise, Bloom played Legolas, and he did an exceptional job with the character. Not only did Bloom appear in the original trilogy, but he was also featured in the Hobbit movies, as well. That's a whole lot of success for the actor, and the first three movies alone would have been more than enough to make him a star.
However, instead of just using Lord of the Rings to become a star, Bloom was also cast as one of the lead characters in the Pirates ot the Caribbean franchise.
He Has Appeared In All But One 'Pirates' Movie
Based on a ride from Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was released to a ton of fanfare in 2003. The movie was a monster hit that no one saw coming, and after making over $650 million, Disney had a new franchise on their hands.
In the franchise, Orlando Bloom played Will Turner, and while Will didn't have the luxury of a huge following like Legolas did when the Lord of the Rings movies came out, Will still became a popular character. This was thanks to the performance that Bloom delivered in the franchise's biggest movies.
From 2003 to 2007, Orlando Bloom would play Will Turned a total of three times, and the movies that he appeared in collectively generated billions of dollars at the box office. It was a tremendous feat to see, and Disney wasn't quite done with putting some swashbuckling pirates on the big screen.
However, the fourth Pirates film was going to be seeing some massive changes, including a distinct lack of Orlando Bloom.
Why He Wasn't In 'On Stranger Tides'
When speaking with MTV News, Bloom was asked about On Stranger Tides, which was about to head into production at the time. Instead of being on board, the actor was not going to be in the movie, and he gave a brief explanation as to why.
"No, definitely not. I think Will is sort of swimming around with the fish at the bottom of the ocean."
"I had a great time making those movies. I just really wanted to do different things, but I think it's going to be great. Whatever Johnny does, I think it's fantastic," he continued.
It's understandable that Bloom wanted to do something different. After all, Pirates was one of two major franchises that he worked on during the 2000s, and playing the same character multiple times can grow old for any performer. Because of this, Bloom was happy to skip On Stranger Tides.
In 2017, Bloom and Keira Knightley both made their return to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and the fans could hardly believe their eyes when they saw them as their classic characters.
When talking about his return to the franchise, Bloom said, "They've kind of gone back to that old style and it's great. I saw the film, I have a cameo in the movie. I have a little bit in the beginning and a little bit at the end. I send my son off onto a journey."
Orlando Bloom was a huge reason why the franchise took off in the first place, and getting burnt out by playing the character ultimately led to him skipping out on the franchise's fourth film.