There’s three years to go until Disney’s swashbuckling franchise returns to theatres. Still, it’s not too early for casting to get underway on the highly unnecessary fifth instalment, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. With each sequel, the series has continued to become more pedestrian – taking less risks and adding more eyeliner. Today’s news from Deadline suggests that the franchise could be heading for an overhaul, as a list of young male actors has surfaced.
The studio appear to be looking for a brand new face to sail this franchise back to its former glory. We now know the lead character will be a young male named Henry, and that there’s apparently quite a lot of interest in the part. According to the report, the following actors are all in the running: Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), George Mackay (Pride), Brenton Thwaites (The Giver, Maleficent), Mitchell Hope (Descendants‘), Ansel Elgort (The Fault In Our Stars) and Sam Keeley (In The Heart Of The Sea). Currently, they’re all being pursued by the studio, so once a deal’s done we can expect to see an official announcement very soon.
As of now, there’s been hardly any information on what the plot will entail, except a solitary comment from Jerry Bruckheimer. The returning producer said this next outing aims to shed the supernatural, ghostly shenanigans and aim to be a “straight pirates movie.” There’s been similarly scant news on the casting sheet, as we know of no-one who’s returning besides Johnny Depp who’ll be reprising his drunken, yobbish Jack Sparrow role. However, there’s been word that Orlando Bloom may return to the series after skipping On Stranger Tides, and Javier Bardem will apparently make his franchise debut in the movie.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is due for release on July 7th, 2017.
