I want a director's cut of the PotC trilogy--several of the deleted scenes involve some actually excellent character work and in DMC and AWE's case actually help clarify some key things about the curses of the Dutchman and Davy Jones.
The longer conversations between Jack and Elizabeth on the rumrunner's island, with her accusing Jack of selling Will out for the Pearl and Jack revealing how it was a bluff and showing off his scars--the extra gravity it added to his character and making it clear he's not invulnerable, the earlier leaning into the ruthlessness and conniving Elizabeth will go to when Will's in trouble...
Norrington calling Elizabeth out on her accepting his proposal for Will's sake and not out of sincerity, emphasizing his sincerity in his feelings for her. Maybe they felt it made her leaving him in the final act stand out more as too harsh, but I think it should have been kept--that decision of hers should be controversial, Elizabeth's brand of ruthlessness is part of what makes her complex
The exchange between Jack and Elizabeth on the Dauntless where they both acknowledge that they're hiding the curse from Norrington for their own objectives, and Jack first calls out how she's just like him with her having and pursuing ulterior motives--"peas in a pod, darling"
The extended post-flogging scene, where Will reveals he's been wrestling with the ramifications of potentially killing his father in the end of CotBP, and the first introduction of Bill's mind deteriorating--"It's not salvation you've found, it's oblivion"; it helps make Will's determination to save Bill have a sense of urgency that contextualizes his decisions in the back half of the movie
The entire first round of Liar's Dice scene, showing Will successfully free his father first and then pursue the key. It emphasizes Will's altruistic nature, which emphasizes the "what's dearest to a man's heart" conversation he and Jones have and--!!!; "you're a desperate man... it can only be a woman" / "a woman need not cause you to be desperate if you choose the right woman" and establishing the through-line of Will's absolute trust and faith in Elizabeth, which emphasizes the shattering nature of her perceived betrayal later (and is important to her shame and avoidance of him in AWE like asdkfjhdskjh!!!); the foreshadowing of "your fate is to be married to this ship" "I choose my own fate" "then it wouldn't be fate"; "you can't best the devil twice" "then why are you walking away...?"; it makes Will's logic for how he's approaching the game, and the "You just wanted to know where it was" make more sense; it makes so much more sense that Bill enters the game and Jones doesn't punish him, because he's free to do what he wants--and it makes him losing and spending an eternity on the ship mean something extra than it already did because Will had saved him and he tried to protect him back; and it all just freakin' flows better...!!!
The longer version of Norrington dropping off the heart to Beckett should have been the post-credits scene, not the prison dog stinger. Establishing a little of why he doesn't stab the heart himself, and showing the first inklings of doubt that what he's done is really the honor he thought it should be... It's much better for him AND Beckett
The cut idea that Jones taunts Governor Swann with Elizabeth's death, his attempt to stab the heart and Norrington stopping him. It does so much for all the characters involved--Jones attempting and having some ability to manipulate the situation in spite of his heart being in Beckett's possession; Norrington literally wrestling more openly and earlier with how he made the wrong choice--his tangible desperation and obvious affection for Swann coming through; making it clear that the stabbing the heart is a geas of Jones' machinations, not the same as the Dutchman's contract; Swann's desperation and rebellion against Beckett leading into his death; Beckett's "he'll obey, it's what he does" about Norrington which emphasizes the contrast between him and Will... This and the first round of the liar's the scene are the ones I'm most salty got cut
The longer deal negotiation between Beckett and Jack, establishing not only Jack's rejection of the slave trade but more importantly emphasizing how Beckett's aim is to commodify the entire world and everything in it, and how that's what's ending the world as they've known it. It helps emphasize how evil he is, how he's the face of the ruthless insatiable nature capitalism and imperialism and--!! That scene was so important for Beckett, and it helped emphasize the return of Jack as a "grand architect" who's capable of chess-mastering everything into position for the final battle, instead of purely improvisational and fleeing for his own skin
The conversation! Between Jack and Gibbs, with Gibbs questioning his motives!!!! In Shipwreck Cove! "You used to have an honest streak!" "Where did that get me? Dead--and I'm not going back again" It helps emphasize the "Living with yourself forever" line from Teague, and builds into Jack's decision to give up stabbing the heart for Will's sake in the end!
All of the small additional exchanges with Barbossa: Barbossa being suspicious of Will's "I got what I wanted" attitude in Singapore, Barbossa's more clear statements on the impact of the EITC's destruction of the world's magic and freedom and what's at stake for piracy and the world at large, the emphasizing those exchanges do for his "Too long my fate has not been in my own hands--no longer" and the parallel/contrast it provides for Will, questions of Fate/Destiny vs Freedom/Choice, and the power of Jones' geas
(Sigh.) I should do my own fancut one day...
































