Key to the Dead Man's Chest

The key to the Dead Man's Chest.

"So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks."
"No. If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?"
"So, we're going after this key."
"You're not making any sense at all."

―Joshamee Gibbs and Jack Sparrow

This key unlocked the Dead Man's Chest that held the heart of Davy Jones, after he cut it from his body in an attempt to rid himself of the pain of losing his love.

History

Origin

"It was not worth feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings. And so...him carve out him heart, lock it away in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. The key, he keep with him at all times."

―Tia Dalma on Davy Jones

The actual place of origin, as well as the original maker, are unknown. The chest was buried on Isla Cruces, and Jones kept the key about his person at all times—tucked behind his facial beard of tentacles. Captain Jack Sparrow learned of the existence of the Dead Man's Chest, and set out to find the key, as he knew a debt made with Jones thirteen years prior now had to be paid. Jack hoped to find Jones' heart and thus control Jones himself, meaning he could call off the Kraken that Jones unleashed upon his enemies.

Search for the key

Drawing of the Key.

"How do you know of the key?"

―Davy Jones to Will Turner

Jack stole a drawing of the key from a warder at the Turkish prison, and set out to find the real thing. To do this, he enlisted the help of Will Turner, persuading him that finding the key would help to rescue Elizabeth Swann, currently languishing in jail at Port Royal. Will accepted, and boarded the Flying Dutchman. There, he tricked Jones into revealing the key's location, and stole it in the dead of night, replacing it with the drawing.

Will stealing the key while Jones sleeps.

Will absconded with the key, though had by now incurred Jones' wrath, who summoned the Kraken to pursue Turner. He managed to evade death, however, and traveled to Isla Cruces, where he confronted Jack as the latter unearthed the Dead Man's Chest. A fight ensued, the culmination of which seeing Jack unlocking the chest and taking the heart. However, James Norrington later took the heart for himself, handing the empty chest over to Jones' crew. Jones unlocked the chest himself aboard the Dutchman, and learned of the heart's disappearance.

East India Trading Company

"You can do nothing without the key!"
"I already have the key!"
"No you don't. Ha ha!"
"Oh, that key."

―Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow

Davy Jones holding the key during a sword fight with Jack Sparrow.

The key remained on board the Flying Dutchman during Jones' servitude, first used by Norrington to display the threat of killing Jones by opening the chest and having his men aim at the heart, and later kept by Ian Mercer after Norrington's death. Following his return from Davy Jones' Locker, Jack Sparrow got the chest while it's guards, Mullroy and Murtogg, were busy arguing. After killing Mercer, Jones took the key back and tried to get the chest from Jack in a duel. The key was lost by Jones when the tentacle he was holding it with was severed. Jack later found the still-mobile tentacle slinking across the deck, the key still in its grasp. He used the key to finally reopen the chest. When that happened, Will became the new captain of the Flying Dutchman, as well as the owner of the Dead Man's Chest and its key. It is unknown if the key was still in Turner's possession after being freed from his duty of ferrying souls to the afterlife.

Behind the scenes

• The key to the Dead Man's Chest first appeared in the 2006 reference book in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide, where it was identified by name. The key would then make full appearances in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.
• Both The Visual Guide and The Complete Visual Guide would also identify the key as "The Key to Jones' Heart", The name "Key to Davy Jones' Chest" was used in other media, like the Dead Man's Chest Promotion Guide and the 2010 version of the official Disney website.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (comic)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
• 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)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as key to the Dead Man's Chest)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide