The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise marches on, with the Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon Tiki) directed fifth installment beginning production today, and the title of the latest entry has been officially revealed as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. A bit of a mouth full, but it does remind of Gore Verbinski's wonderfully weird original trilogy of Pirates movies more than the disappointing On Stranger Tides. The similarities to the first three movies continues with the official synopsis, which brings back the supernatural element missing from the fourth installment:
Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including him. Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas.
Of course, Johnny Depp is making a return as Captain Jack Sparrow, and he will be joined by other returning cast members Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa (who quickly became my favorite character in the franchise), Kevin R. McNally as Gibbs, and Brigham Taylor as Scrum. Joining Bardem as newcomers is The Maze Runner's Kaya Scodelario, The Giver and Maleficent's Brenton Twaites, and Golshifteh Farahani, last seen in Exodus: Gods and Kings.
As disappointed as I was with On Stranger Tides, the Pirates franchise is one I have a hell of a lot of time for, and my hopes are high that Sandberg and Rønning can deliver something more in keeping with the incredibly fun first three movies with Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is set for release July 6th 2017.
