Just a few weeks after the first set photo surfaced, Walt Disney Pictures announced today that production has gotten under way on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is set for release on July 7, 2017. The official announcement also gave us the first plot details, while revealing that Golshifteh Farahani has joined the cast, and confirming that Pirates of the Caribbean franchise mainstays Geoffrey Rush (Barbosa), Kevin McNally (Joshamee Gibbs) and Stephen Graham (Scrum) are returning. Take a look at the cast and plot details below.
Johnny Depp returns to his iconic, Academy Award-nominated role of Captain Jack Sparrow, one of the most beloved characters in motion picture history, newly joined by Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall), rising young stars Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner, British television's Skins) and Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent, The Giver) and Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Exodus: Gods and Kings). Rejoining the action are Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs and Stephen Graham as Scrum.
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 (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.
It's worth noting that the press release made no mention of Orlando Bloom, who has long been rumored to return. Fans may recall that Orlando Bloom's Will Turner essentially turned into Davy Jones at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and there was speculation that Brenton Thwaites is playing Will/Davy's son. With production now under way, hopefully we'll learn more about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in the coming months, so stay tuned for more details.