I don't think the writers are gonna make anything of Will's dad in the sequel. I was listening to the audio commentaries made by the writers on the dvd, and they explain the whole story during the end credits. They mention the whole 'crushing' thing of the ocean, and they said that he would just be a really thin puddle by now.
Theory on the compass by Tala Draco. 🙂
"I had gone out with some friends the other day to see a double feature. First we saw Sinbad.... and then Pirates. While watching POTC, I noticed something. I know where Jack got that compass. Here is the basic theory in full... (sort of) ^^
............................
Sinbad (the first pirate, mind) went off on one of his many adventures. In one of then he sailed right by the Isla de Muerta.... this was in order to reach the place where Eris, the goddess of discord, lives. Later, he returns to this place to store his treasure, until it becomes something huge. He is given a compass by the gods to find it, which he passes down through his generations.
It finally reaches a descendant of his who happens to be a sailor on one of Cortez's ships. A trusted sailor of Cortez's, he is enlisted to get rid of the treasure. But pirate is in his blood and instead he sails to the Isla de Muerta and stores the treasure there.
The purpose of the compass is passed down from generation to generation, but not all of Sinbad's descendants were sailors or pirates. Jack's father was and knew that if he took a crew to Isla de Muerta, then they would go after all the treasure. But Jack was different, he'd never been, but he knew the way.... so as soon as his father died and the Black Pearl became his, he decided to go after the treasure.
Okay, now for the proof:
#1: Sinbad was a pirate... perhaps the first in recorded history. Though he wasn't actually called a pirate then, he was a sailor captain and a thief. He was also perhaps the greatest.
#2: He and Jack share some of the same qualities that make them loveable (although admittedly Jack does wear a bit more eyeliner). Both are scoundrels and hold no punches when going after what they want. But in the end, both proved to be good men. Both sailed off into the horizon at the end of the movie in search of more treasure and adventure. Etc etc....
#3: Sinbad, while going to meet Eris, passed by a ship graveyard and through a cave that looked exactly like the one that Jack passed through to get to Tortuga. So, with all his journies, Sinbad was bound to wind up at the Isla de Muerta."
ta daa!
All is revealed!