On Stranger Tides (novel)

On Stranger Tides is a novel by Tim Powers published in 1988. Disney optioned it for a film and decided to use it as the basis for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Publisher's Summary
The story of John Chandagnac who sails to Haiti to recover his father's lost plantation and enters a Caribbean pirate empire ruled by Blackbeard, a child of voodoo whose spirit is infested with ghosts. The hero is pressed into piracy and sorcery as Blackbeard searches for the Fountain of Lost Youth.

Connection with Pirates of the Caribbean
When the title of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie was announced, those familiar with Tim Powers' novel suspected there was a connection. On October 6, 2009, Powers was able to confirm that Disney had optioned his book in April 2007.

When asked about how his book would mix with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Powers said the trip to the Fountain of Youth is probably the most obvious thing. He mentioned that the main character of his book and Jack Sparrow are totally different characters, but Barbossa and Blackbeard might be able to overlap.