Pirates of the Caribbean 5 production delayed

An injury to Johnny Depp’s hand is expected to delay the current shoot for the new Pirates of the Caribbean film for up to four weeks, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Depp travelled to the US for surgery last month after hurting himself in an off-set accident. His return to the Gold Coast of Australia has now been delayed until the middle of this month, with production of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales shut down in the meantime.

It is understood that the 51-year-old required the insertion of a pin in his finger as part of the treatment.

Depp plays scurvy sea-dog miscreant Captain Jack Sparrow in the long-running Disney saga. The new instalment sees him coming up against old rival Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), who has escaped from the Bermuda Triangle with his crew of ghost pirates and is on a mission to kill every pirate on the sea. Geoffrey Rush returns as Captain Hector Barbossa, with debutants including Britain’s Kaya Scodelario as the new female lead.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is filming on location in Port Douglas near the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest in the far north of Queensland. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that about half of the film’s estimated 400 crew were told last week that they would not be required on set for at least two weeks. The fifth film in the long-running saga is the biggest Disney production to shoot in Australia, with an estimated budget of at least $250 million (Dh918 million). It is expected to film for another 14 weeks with a release date of 7 July 2017.