Following the rounding up of cast members, details on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ have been limited. While the cast and crew are expected to carry out the sequel’s filming this April, production was reportedly shut down for a couple of weeks as star Johnny Depp is required to undergo hand surgery in the United States.
Delays in filming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’ were initially expected to slash two weeks off the scheduled shooting following the producers’ statement that Depp’s injury would only bring about ‘minimal impact.’
However, the break has further extended to four more weeks after the 51-year-old actor will reportedly need to have a pin inserted into one of his fingers after an accident last March.
According to The Daily Mail, Depp obtained his "right wrist" injury after go-karting on a private track in a lavish Coomera property owned by MotoGP world champion and motorbikes legend Mick Doohan. The actor was reportedly flown back to California through a private jet.
Depp returns to the franchise as he reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow alongside Geoffrey Rush, who plays Hector Barbossa, and newcomer Javier Bardem, who takes on the villain role of Captain Salazar in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5.’
Bardem’s wife, actress Penelope Cruz, is not expected to reprise her role as Angelica Teach.
Other new cast members include Brenton Thwaites (‘Maleficent’, ‘The Giver’), Golshifteh Farahani (‘My Sweet Pepper Land’, ‘The Patience Stone’) and Kaya Scodelario (‘The Maze Runner’, ‘Skins’ TV series), who will take on the lead female role. ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ is directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film will also have Chad Oman, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. and Brigham Taylor as executive producers and Jeff Nathanson as screenwriter.
According to a film spokesman, filming will resume depending on Depp’s recovery. Nonetheless, the cast and crew still pushed through with certain scenes without Depp, following the actor’s exit from the set last March 10.
On the other hand, half of the crew consisting of 400 members who have been set to work on the fifth movie from the billion-dollar franchise have been asked to halt filming.
Shooting for ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ still calls for 14 more weeks, with an official film release date set for July 7, 2017.