Elizabeth Swann was introduced at the beginning of the original 2003 film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

She is rescued by the notorious pirate Jack Sparrow, newly arrived in Port Royal to commandeer a ship.

When Elizabeth is taken hostage by the pirates, they discover that she possesses a gold medallion that she took from Will after his rescue years ago.

Elizabeth strikes a deal with the captain of the ship, Hector Barbossa: He will leave Port Royal in exchange for the medallion.

Hoping to rescue Will, Elizabeth convinces Norrington to attack Barbossa's crew on Isla de Muerta by impulsively accepting his marriage proposal.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) takes place one year after The Curse of the Black Pearl.

At the beginning of the film, Lord Cutler Beckett notifies Elizabeth and Will that they have been sentenced to death for helping Sparrow escape execution.

Beckett, who is an agent of the East India Trading Company, offers clemency if Will agrees to search for Sparrow and obtain his magical compass.

Elizabeth attends a meeting of pirate lords, who discuss how to oppose Beckett and the East India Trading Company.

In the post-credits sequence, Elizabeth Swann stays asleep as Will Turner dreams that their bedroom is entered by the shadow of an apparently resurrected Davy Jones.

According to a presskit from The Curse of the Black Pearl, the producers cast her because she had an "indescribable quality ... reminiscent of motion picture stars from Hollywood's heyday.

"[4] Knightley's co-star Johnny Depp described her approach to playing Elizabeth: "Keira steps into the ring and attacks ...

[5] When filming At World's End, Knightley was glad to shed the elaborate dresses—which were uncomfortably hot—and wear only pirate clothing.

[6] During production of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, Knightley wore wigs when playing Elizabeth.

Both Knightley and Orlando Bloom repeatedly stated that they were done with Pirates series, noting that there was closure for Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann in At World's End, and was quoted in saying they wanted to move on from the franchise, and so did not return for the fourth film On Stranger Tides.

[12][13][14] Once the film was shown to test audiences, the filmmakers felt they were "demanded" to reunite both Will and Elizabeth's character and approached Knightley about appearing.

[15] To ensure that Knightley could reprise this role, the production moved for a one-day shoot in London, where she was working, and planned around her schedule.

"[19] In a 2023 interview, Knightley reflected that she felt "constrained" and "caged" after her breakout performance as Elizabeth in The Curse of the Black Pearl.