Does The 'POTC' Timeline Refute The Claim Of Henry Being Will Turner's Son?

The teaser trailer for Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales came out and the trailer introduced two new characters to the franchise, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and Henry (Brenton Thwaites). Within the trailer, Captain Salazar makes his purpose in the film known very quickly but Henry's role still seems questionable after his brief appearance.

It was rumored that Henry would be Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan's son, first glimpsed at the conclusion of Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End. However, those rumors may turn out to be false. Let's take a look at the timeline of the Pirates Of The Caribbean universe to discredit those earlier rumors.

Let's say POTC: At World's End takes place during 1590.

Considering that POTC: At World's End concluded with Elizabeth Swan pregnant with Will Turner's son, it would place Henry at one year old during POTC: At World's End (for now, let's just say 1590). Then Pirates Of The Caribbean: Stranger Tides took place what appears to be a few years after POTC: At World's End in 1594, making Turner's son four years old at the oldest during the film.

Some would argue that Turner's son is at least 10 years old at the conclusion of POTC: At World's End (1594) since Turner's son was seen during the post-credits scene where Will Turner was making his voyage back to land, after his service of 10 years as Captain to the Flying Dutchman. But that scene can be excluded from the continuity of the Pirates Of The Caribbean universe since the post-credits scene was a foreshadowing scene utilized to depict what would be awaiting Will Turner when he'd return to Elizabeth Swan. The scene wasn't intended to be a direct event that would advance the the timeline of the Pirates Of The Caribbean universe 10 years in one scene. It was intended to conclude a cynical philosophy which Davy Jones instilled in Turner before dying, that philosophy rounding out to be that any lover being would be incapable of waiting 10 years for a Captain of the Flying Dutchman to return from his journey. So the post-credits scene depicting Elizabeth Swan with her 10 year old son was placed there to disprove Jones' claim, at the same time, providing a happy ending to the Turner family's unfortunate situation.

And POTC: On Stranger Tides took place four years later, in 1594.

Moving back to the setting of POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales, we can assume that POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales (1596) takes place quite soon after the events of POTC: On Stranger Tides (1594) since Captain Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbosa don't look like they've aged much from the last time they were seen on-screen. That in itself would mean Turner's son couldn't be much older; at most, Turner's son could be seven or eight.

Otherwise, for Henry (who appears to be between the ages of 16 and 19) to be Will Turner's son in POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbosa would be in their elder years, potentially placing them out of commission to be venturing the high seas since old age would make voyaging quite difficult to do. But from the looks of Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) on the set of POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales, their characters haven't aged much since POTC: On Stranger Tides.

To put it simply, the fact that Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbosa's appearances haven't changed much since they were seen in POTC: On Stranger Tides means two things to the continuity of Pirates Of The Caribbean.

For one, the timeline of the Pirates Of The Caribbean universe places a six year gap, at most, between the events of POTC: At World's End (1590) and POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales (1596). And two, considering that POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales takes place a few years after POTC: At World's End, it would mean Turner's son is only six or seven at the oldest. Ultimately, that means Will Turner's son couldn't plausibly be Henry (Brenton Thwaites), seen in the trailer for POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

However, their may be some convoluted nature to the matter which causes Henry to believe he's Will Turner's son, when in fact, he's actually unrelated to Turner. And now that Henry's current age makes it unreasonable for him to be Turner's son, it adds supporting evidence to the claim of Henry being related to another central cast member in POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales rather than Will Turner.

As to who that character will turn out to be is undetermined at the moment but considering that Thwaites' character of Henry is looking for his father, he may wind up finding his father in an unlikely place. It's possible that the teaser trailer which depicted Captain Salazar questioning Henry of Jack Sparrow's whereabouts means Salazar knows of the true relation Henry shares with Jack Sparrow? A relation that sees Henry recognized as Jack Sparrow's illegitimate son?