He was supposed to be the new Will Turner. That’s the heavy burden Sam Claflin carried when he stepped onto the set of On Stranger Tides. If you think back to 2011, the franchise was at a weird crossroads. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley had bowed out, leaving a massive, romantic-shaped hole in the narrative. Enter Pirates of the Caribbean Philip Swift. He wasn’t a blacksmith or a pirate’s son; he was a missionary. A man of God thrown into a world of rum-soaked sinners and literal monsters.
Honestly, it was a bold move.
The fourth film gets a lot of flak for being "the Jack Sparrow show," but Philip provided a necessary moral anchor. He was earnest. Maybe too earnest for some fans? But when you look at the mechanics of the story, Philip Swift wasn't just a placeholder. He was the lens through which we saw the most interesting part of that movie: the mermaids.
The Missionary and the Mermaid: A Different Kind of Romance
Let's be real. The romance between Philip and Syrena (played by Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) is probably the most underrated part of the later sequels. While Jack is busy chasing the Fountain of Youth and Blackbeard is being, well, Blackbeard, Philip is undergoing a massive crisis of faith.
He starts the movie as a prisoner. Blackbeard keeps him around because he thinks having a man of God on board might stave off damnation. It’s a cynical, dark motivation that immediately sets Philip apart from the swashbuckling heroes we saw in the first three films. He’s not there to fight. He’s there to save souls, even the ones that don't want saving.
Then he sees her.
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The Whitecap Bay sequence is genuinely terrifying. The mermaids aren't Disney princesses; they’re predators. Yet, Philip sees the humanity—or the "soul"—in Syrena. Their connection isn't based on witty banter or childhood history. It’s built on shared suffering. When Philip names her Syrena, he’s giving her an identity beyond just "creature." It’s a subtle bit of character work that Claflin handles with a lot of grace, especially considering he’s mostly acting against a woman in a tank or covered in CGI dots.
People often complain that their love story felt rushed. Maybe it did. But in a world where everyone is double-crossing everyone else, that raw, desperate protection Philip feels for her is refreshing. He chooses her over his mission. He chooses her over his safety. By the time he’s crawling through the jungle with a mortal wound, you’re actually rooting for the guy.
Why Sam Claflin Was the Right Choice
Before he was Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games, Sam Claflin was just a guy trying to make a missionary look cool. It's a tough sell. Audiences in 2011 wanted more "Yo Ho" and less "Hallelujah."
Claflin brought a physical vulnerability to Pirates of the Caribbean Philip Swift that the franchise lacked. Will Turner was a master swordsman. Jack Sparrow is essentially immortal due to luck and plot armor. Philip? Philip gets beat up. He gets tied to a mast. He spends half the movie bleeding. This vulnerability makes the stakes feel real. When Blackbeard threatens Philip, you actually believe he might die because he doesn't have the "main character energy" that protects the others.
Interestingly, Claflin has spoken in interviews about how daunting the experience was. He was a newcomer joining a billion-dollar machine. He had to find a way to make a character who is fundamentally good interesting in a movie that celebrates being bad. He did it by leaning into the internal conflict. You can see it in his eyes when he realizes the "holy" Fountain of Youth requires a ritual of cruelty. His faith isn't shaken in God, but it’s definitely shaken in the institutions of men.
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The Mystery of the Ending: Where Did Philip Go?
This is the big one. The question that still plagues forums and Reddit threads years later.
At the end of On Stranger Tides, Philip is dying. Syrena pulls him underwater, promising to save him. Does he turn into a merman? Does he just drown happily in her arms? Does he live in some underwater kingdom? The movie never tells us. And then, he just... disappears.
When Dead Men Tell No Tales (the fifth movie) rolled around, Philip was nowhere to be found. Instead, the "young romantic lead" slot was filled by Brenton Thwaites as Henry Turner. It felt like a soft reboot, ignoring the events of the previous film's newcomers.
What happened behind the scenes?
There wasn't some massive scandal or falling out. Usually, it comes down to script direction. The fifth film wanted to return to the roots of the original trilogy, which meant bringing back the Turner bloodline. Philip Swift didn't fit that narrative. He was a standalone experiment.
But fans haven't forgotten him. There’s a specific niche of the fandom that finds the Philip/Syrena ending to be the most poetic in the series. It’s ambiguous. In a franchise that explains everything with curses and ancient coins, having one ending that is purely mythological and unexplained is kind of beautiful.
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Breaking Down the "New Will Turner" Comparison
It’s easy to say Philip was a Will Turner clone, but that's a lazy take. Let’s look at the differences:
- Motivation: Will wanted to save Elizabeth. Philip wanted to save Syrena's dignity and his own soul.
- Skillset: Will is a combatant. Philip is an intellectual and a healer.
- Relationship to Piracy: Will eventually embraces the pirate life ("Pirate or not, we may be the only ones with a chance"). Philip rejects it until the very end, and even then, he only uses violence as a last resort to protect someone else.
Philip Swift was actually a deconstruction of the "hero." He wasn't there to win. He was there to witness.
The Legacy of the Character in 2026
Looking back from today's perspective, Philip Swift feels like a character ahead of his time. We’re currently in an era of cinema where we appreciate "soft" male leads more than we did in 2011. Philip wasn't toxic. He wasn't trying to colonize or control the mermaid; he was trying to understand her.
If the rumors of a Pirates 6 or a total reboot ever actually manifest into a real movie, there is a legitimate case for bringing Philip back. Imagine a grizzled, older Philip Swift who has spent a decade living in the shadows of the sea. That’s a story worth telling.
Actionable Takeaways for Pirates Fans
If you're revisiting the series or diving into the lore for the first time, here's how to actually appreciate the Philip Swift arc without getting bogged down by the "Jack Sparrow Fatigue" that often hits during the fourth film:
- Watch the background acting: Claflin does a lot of work in the scenes where he isn't speaking. Look at his reactions to Blackbeard’s cruelty; it’s the only moral compass the movie has.
- Research the "Mermaid's Kiss" lore: In the film, it’s mentioned that a mermaid's kiss can save a sailor from drowning. This is the key to Philip’s fate. It wasn't just a romantic gesture; it was a supernatural intervention.
- Compare to the "Silver" characters: In literature, characters like Philip are often referred to as "silver" characters—they aren't the sun (Jack) or the moon (Barbossa), but they provide the essential light needed to see the path.
- Don't skip the deleted scenes: There are minor beats in the extended cuts and behind-the-scenes features that show more of Philip’s struggle with the crew of the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Philip Swift might not be the most famous name in the Pirates of the Caribbean mythos, but he represented a pivot point for the series. He proved that you could have a story in that world that didn't revolve around the East India Trading Company or Aztec gold. It was a story about faith, cruelty, and a very literal leap into the deep end.
For those looking to explore more about the production of On Stranger Tides, check out the "Legends of the Coast" production diaries. They offer a pretty raw look at how they filmed the Whitecap Bay scenes and the grueling schedule Claflin and Bergès-Frisbey endured. It makes you respect the performances a whole lot more when you see the cold, dark water they were actually standing in.