James Norrington's pistol

"We are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

James Norrington's pistol
Production information
Model	Single-barreled
Type	Flintlock pistol
Technical specifications
Capacity	1 bullet
Usage
Owner(s)	James Norrington
Affiliation	British Royal Navy East India Trading Company
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Latest appearance	At World's End

"So, am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow? Or should I just kill you now?"

―James Norrington to Jack Sparrow

This pistol was a weapon favored by James Norrington. It was a single-barreled flintlock pistol that was most notably seen during his time as an officer of the British Royal Navy.

History

It is unknown when James Norrington obtained this pistol, but he had it on the day of his promotion to commodore. When Jack Sparrow escaped from his men, Norrington and the marines searched for him through the streets of Port Royal. Norrington had the pistol when Jack was finally captured in John Brown's blacksmith shop.

Later, when the cursed crew of the Black Pearl attacked Norrington's ship, the HMS Dauntless, Norrington used the pistol to shoot at Koehler, hitting him in the face. However, the undead pirate wasn't killed, wounded or even slowed by the shot, so Norrington fought against him with his ceremonial sword.

Some time after the battle of the Isla de Muerta, Norrington resigned his commission and left the Navy. Though he left his old sword in an office in Port Royal, he kept his pistol. Eventually, Norrington became a drunkard on the pirate port of Tortuga. Some time later, when Jack Sparrow was recruiting a crew in the Twelve Daggers tavern, Norrington attempted to shoot Jack, but he was stopped by one of Jack's newly recruited pirates. Norrington's shot broke the bottle of rum in the hands of one of the pirate visitors, which started one of the usual bar fights.

James fires at the rope that connects the two ships.

Norrington used a twin-barrelled pistol after he was promoted to the rank of Admiral. When James organized the escape of Elizabeth Swann and her pirate crew from the Flying Dutchman, he used this pistol to cut the restraints that were connecting the Empress to the Dutchman. A moment later, he was mortally wounded by Bootstrap Bill. Davy Jones took Norrington's sword for himself, but what happened with Norrington's pistol is unknown.

Behind the scenes

James Norrington's pistol first appeared in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The pistol in The Curse of the Black Pearl was a reproduction of a Royal Navy Sea Service Pistol, circa 1756-1815, provided by Military Heritage Film Services. While unconfirmed, the pistol was likely used in the sequels Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Dead Man's Chest, former commodore James Norrington aims the pistol across the room where Jack Sparrow FREEZES, caught in the act of sneaking away, only aiming it once when Jack said, "You're hired." While Jack sneaking away was played out differently in the final cut of the film, the screenplay's description was retained in the junior novelization.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for At World's End, Admiral James Norrington stops Governor Weatherby Swann's attempt to stab the heart of Davy Jones aboard the Flying Dutchman, Jones himself then enters the captain's cabin and explains the consequences of stabbing his heart. Although the scene was cut from the film, it was retained in a deleted scene, which had Norrington pull out his pistol and aiming it at Jones. Unlike the screenplay and the film, where Norrington used his pistol to shoot the tow line connecting the Empress and the Flying Dutchman, Norrington shoots at Jones' crew in the comic book adaptation.

In Terry Rossio's original 2012 screenplay draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the pistol appeared as part of Jack Sparrow's hallucination as he spied a longboat bearing Commodore Norrington, beckoning to him, and then he raised a pistol and fired; his boat shoots backward impossibly fast, in a dreamlike, uncanny fashion, out of reach. As noted in Rossio's annotations, the pistol Norrington raises to fire should be the exact same pistol he aimed at Jack in the pub in Dead Man's Chest, and suggested the scene could be a trailer moment.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (comic)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)