By Nicole Belair, Staff Writer
Last week, Walt Disney Studios hit us with the trailer for the newest installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, and they did not disappoint.
Dead Men Tell No Tales has been highly anticipated, as it began filming shortly before the release of the fourth movie, On Stranger Tides, in 2011.
Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush will return as Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa, respectively.
Fans are also thrilled to learn that Orlando Bloom will reprise his iconic role as Will Turner.
During a press launch for the last movie, Depp stated that he would continue playing the role of the eccentric Jack Sparrow as long as the public wanted him to.
In 2012, he signed on for the fifth film, agreeing to a $90 million contract.
Geoffrey Rush also officially agreed to reprise his role in 2014, under the condition that Barbossa’s character would be further developed.
Similarly, Orlando Bloom signed back on to the franchise four years after he refused to be a part of the fourth movie.
Teasers for Dead Men Tell No Tales suggest that the plot is focused around Jack Sparrow and an old nemesis, Captain Salazar. Salazar has escaped from the Devil’s Triangle determined to kill every pirate, including Jack.
In the meantime, Jack is searching for the legendary Trident of Poseidon, his only hope of survival, which will give him total control over the seas.
Sounds to me like the writers are getting desperate for some fresh material after the plot of the last movie was ruled a disappointment amongst viewers.
Nevertheless, fans of the franchise are still excited for the new release. With over 49,000 likes and 62,000 shares, the trailer went viral in a matter of minutes.
The fifth movie has been long awaited, and to say that there has been drama surrounding the film would be an understatement.
Walt Disney Pictures was hesitant to even confirm a fifth installment.
The Lone Ranger (2013) starring Johnny Depp in a similar role, lost the studio $190 million. This loss caused Disney to question Depp’s ability to bring them a profit, and the studio began to doubt the Pirates franchise as a whole.
They originally wanted to release the fifth movie in 2013, but the release date was moved to 2015 due to the uncertainty.
Once the script was perfected and a budget was signed off on, Disney finally gave the film the green light in 2014, and the release was confirmed for July 7, 2017.
However, the directors encountered one problem after another once they actually starting shooting the film. First, the entire film was shot in Australia, where there are many biosecurity laws.
There were problems using the capuchin monkeys to play Barbossa’s pet, Jack, as the country requires a 30-day quarantine.
Animal rights activists also had a problem with the use of the monkeys, which led Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to reject the application to fly two monkeys from California to Australia.
On March 10, 2015, Depp was injured off set and had to travel back to the United States for surgery. His injury delayed filming by at least two weeks, as the cast and crew had already filmed all the scenes that they could without Depp.
Depp returned to Australia over a month later, bringing now ex-wife Amber Heard. The two faced legal trouble and heavy fines after they also snuck their two Yorkshire terriers into the country, violating some of the same biosecurity laws that the production crew faced with the monkeys.
Due to all of these delays, the film was already $70 million over budget with 14 weeks still left to film. Despite the wait, though, the trailer’s Facebook post was flooded with comments from fans expressing their eagerness to see the movie.
Some of the scenes in the trailer are reminiscent of the earlier films, including the British officials and the fish pirates, which is certainly refreshing.
However, they certainly left us with some questions. Why is Jack on wanted posters? Is Will still the captain of the Flying Dutchman? Who is the blonde kid on the lower deck? Is he Will and Elizabeth’s son?
This movie has been a long time coming, and I expect to see all of you die-hard fans at the movie theater on July 7 for Dead Men Tell No Tales.