Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a 2007 American epic fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and written by the writing team of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Set a few months after Dead Man's Chest, the story follows an urgent quest to locate and rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), trapped on a sea of sand in Davy Jones' Locker, and convene the Brethren Court in a war against the East India Trading Company.

In an uneasy alliance, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and the crew of the Black Pearl rescue Jack and prepare to fight Lord Cutler Beckett, who controls Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman.

Two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl were conceived in 2004, with Elliott and Rossio developing a story arc that would span both films.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution released At World's End in the United States on May 18, 2007, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Now in control of the oceans, Lord Cutler Beckett executes anyone associated with piracy in Port Royal and orders Davy Jones to destroy all pirate ships, also forcing him to kill the Kraken.

Condemned prisoners sing Hoist the Colours to compel nine Pirate Lords from around the world to convene at Shipwreck Cove to hold the Brethren Court and address the threat Beckett poses.

Because Pirate Lord Jack Sparrow never named a successor before being dragged to Davy Jones' Locker,[a] Hector Barbossa, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Tia Dalma, and the surviving crew of the Black Pearl plot to rescue him.

In Singapore, the crew meet Pirate Lord Sao Feng, who owns navigational charts to the Locker before they are attacked by the East India Trading Company.

During the battle, Will secretly promises to give Jack to Feng in return for the Pearl, intending to use it to rescue his father "Bootstrap Bill" Turner from the Flying Dutchman.

Returning to the living world, the Pearl stops at an island for fresh water, but the crew is attacked by Sao Feng and Beckett's men.

As Jack secretly negotiates his freedom with Beckett, Elizabeth is handed over to Feng, who believes she is Calypso, while the rest of the crew make for Shipwreck Cove aboard the Pearl.

The Pearl arrives at Shipwreck Cove, where Barbossa attempts to persuade the Brethren Court to release Calypso while Elizabeth demands they fight back against Beckett.

[6] Inspired by the real-life confederation of pirates, Elliott and Rossio looked at historical figures and created fictional characters from them to expand the scope beyond the main cast.

[15] Finally embellishing their mythology, Calypso was introduced, going full circle to Barbossa's mention of "heathen gods" that created the curse in the first film.

Continuing this natural feel, the floorboards of Sao Feng's bathhouse had to be cut by hand, and real humidity was created by the combination of gallons of water and the lighting equipment on the set.

[18][8] Filming resumed on August 3, 2006, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah[19] for 70 days off the California coast, as all the shooting required in the Caribbean had been conducted in 2005.

[21] The climactic battle was shot in a former air hangar at Palmdale, California,[22] where the cast had to wear wetsuits underneath their costumes on angle-tipped ships.

[27] Twenty minutes were removed, not including end credits, though producer Jerry Bruckheimer maintained that the long running time was needed to make the final battle work in terms of build-up.

He played the Ennio Morricone-influenced guitar music in the parley scene between Barbossa, Sparrow, Elizabeth and Will, Davy Jones, and Cutler Beckett.

[37] Just a few weeks before the film's release, Walt Disney Pictures decided to move the United States opening of At World's End from screenings Friday, May 18, 2007, to Thursday at 8 pm, May 17, 2007.

No official reason for the censorship was given, but unofficial sources within China have indicated that the character gave a negative and stereotypical portrayal of Chinese people.

It set a Memorial Day 4-day weekend record ($139.8 million), which it held until the release of Top Gun: Maverick, another film produced by Bruckheimer in 2022.

The site's critical consensus reads, "POTC: AWE provides the thrilling action scenes, but mixes in too many characters with too many incomprehensible plot threads.

[77] Brian Lowry felt that "unlike last year's bloated sequel, it at least possesses some semblance of a destination, making it slightly more coherent – if no less numbing during the protracted finale.

[81] James Berardinelli found it the weakest of the trilogy as "the last hour offers adventure as rousing as anything provided in either of the previous installments... which doesn't account for the other 108 minutes of this gorged, self-indulgent, and uneven production.

[84] Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent said the film was overall a disappointment and that "the final showdown ... is a non-event and the repetitive swordplay and inane plot contrivances simply become boring by the end".

[85] Richard Roeper gave a positive review, saying "Gore Verbinski and the stunt and special effects crews have created one of the most impressive blends of live-action work and CGI wizardry ever put on film," and believing it "rarely drags and is almost always entertaining."

Disney continued the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa, and Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs in stand-alone sequels, beginning with On Stranger Tides in 2011.