User blog comment:Kakoolookiyam/Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides/@comment-4898132-20120211075910

On Stranger Tides was suppose to follow the events of the POTC trilogy, there was no doubt of that. There are many elements that gave OST the feel of the sequel like, as you said, the returning characters as well as the search for the Fountain of Youth. And it's because of those elements as well as a few more that made OST a followup to AWE and the previous.

However, I can't deny saying that OST is a standalone of sorts. Aside from the fact that Terry Rossio believed OST itself was a standalone type story...it certainly felt like a standalone story in and of itself. The film did have some similar elements from CotBP-AWE, but then there were also new elements as well. Then again, some would say that it's just OST presenting new material in the series. But still...

Main point of my rambling: there is not a wrong answer in thinking that On Stranger Tides is a sequel and a standalone...as it is a bit of both.