Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (released internationally as Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge) is a 2017 American swashbuckler fantasy film directed by Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg. It is written by Jeff Nathanson, from a story by Nathanson and Terry Rossio. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film is the sequel to On Stranger Tides (2011) and the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The film stars Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, and Kevin McNally. The story follows Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) as he searches for the Trident of Poseidon to defeat Armando Salazar (Bardem), who is determined to kill every pirate at sea and take revenge on Sparrow for imprisoning him and his crew of ghosts in the Devil's Triangle. Jack is joined by Hector Barbossa (Rush), young sailor Henry Turner (Thwaites), young astronomer Carina Smyth (Scodelario), and Jack's first mate Joshamee Gibbs (McNally) to defeat Salazar's ghostly crew.
The filmmakers cited the series' first installment, The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), as inspiration for the script and tone of the film, with critics describing the film as a "requel". Pre-production for the film started shortly before On Stranger Tides was released in early 2011, with Terry Rossio writing the initial script. In early 2013, Jeff Nathanson was hired to write a new script for the film, with Depp being involved in Nathanson's writing process. Initially planned for a 2015 release, the film was delayed to 2016 and then to 2017, due to script and budget issues. Principal photography started in Australia in February 2015, after the Australian government offered Disney $20 million in tax incentives, and ended in July 2015.
Thirteen years after the battle of Calypso's maelstrom,[a] a twelve-year-old Henry Turner boards the Flying Dutchman and informs his father, Will, that the curse which binds Will to the Dutchman and only permits him to step on land once a decade can be broken by the Trident of Poseidon. Henry intends to recruit Captain Jack Sparrow to help find it, but Will believes this is impossible and orders Henry to leave. Will and the Dutchman then disappear into the sea, but Henry vows to find Jack and the Trident.
Nine years later, Henry is a midshipman in the Royal Navy. His ship sails into the supernatural Devil's Triangle and stumbles upon the wreck of the Silent Mary, whose undead crew led by Spanish pirate-hunter, Captain Armando Salazar, slaughter the sailors but leave Henry as the sole survivor so that he can deliver a message to Jack, who led them to the Triangle decades ago, causing the downfall of Salazar and his crew and inadvertently cursing them.
On Saint Martin, a young astronomer named Carina Smyth is sentenced to death for witchcraft but escapes and crosses paths with Jack as he and his crew botch a bank robbery, suffering from a spell of bad luck. Jack later trades his compass for a drink, an act that destroys the Devil's Triangle and frees Salazar and his crew once more. Carina learns Henry is looking for the Trident's location and offers to help him using her unknown father's diary. Carina and Jack stall the execution process, but they escape with the help of Henry and Jack's crew, setting sail on the Dying Gull. Carina deciphers the clues in her diary, discovering that the stars will lead to an island where the Trident is hidden.
Meanwhile, Captain Hector Barbossa hears from his pirate crew that the revived Captain Salazar has killed several pirates at sea and is destroying Barbossa's fleet. Barbossa talks his way out of being killed by offering to help find Jack and learns that the Trident could lead him to a "treasure". Salazar agrees, wanting revenge on Jack. Salazar pursues the Dying Gull, forcing Jack, Henry, and Carina to flee to an island, discovering that Salazar's crew cannot go on land. Barbossa allies himself with Jack, returning his compass and restoring the miniaturized Black Pearl[b] to its original size. They continue their journey to the island, with Barbossa taking command of the Pearl once more. During the voyage, Jack and Barbossa realize Carina is the latter's long-lost daughter.
The Pearl approaches the Trident's island and evades a Royal Navy warship until it is destroyed by the Silent Mary before the Pearl runs around on the island. Jack, Barbossa, and Carina use the island's magic to part the ocean which opens a path to the Trident on the ocean floor. Salazar captures Henry and possesses him to walk on the ocean floor and seize the Trident. Once he does so, Henry is given his body back, and Jack distracts Salazar, allowing Henry to destroy the Trident, breaking all curses upon the sea and restoring Salazar's crew to life. However, the Trident's destruction causes the divided sea to close in on them. The Pearl lowers its anchor to lift the group to safety, but Salazar pursues them, still hell-bent on killing Jack. Carina realizes that Barbossa is her father when she spots a tattoo on his arm identical to the diary's cover, a trident star formation. Barbossa sacrifices himself to kill Salazar, allowing the others to escape.
Sometime later, Henry and Carina reach Port Royal, where Will appears, free from the Dutchman. His wife, Elizabeth Swann, appears moments later and the Turner family reunites. Henry and Carina kiss. Jack watches from the Pearl before sailing away into the horizon, captain once again, while also adopting Captain Barbossa's monkey Jack.
In a post-credits scene, Will and Elizabeth are asleep in their bed, when Davy Jones appears in their room. When he prepares to strike the couple, Will wakes up to find no one in the room. Assuming he had a nightmare, he goes back to sleep, oblivious to the wet barnacles on the floor.
Supporting characters appearing in the film include: David Wenham as Lieutenant John Scarfield, a Royal Navy officer who commands HMS Essex;[21] and Golshifteh Farahani as Shansa, a sea witch who helps Barbossa and Scarfield.[1] Stephen Graham, Martin Klebba, Giles New, and Angus Barnett reprise their roles as Scrum, Marty, and Murtogg and Mullroy, respectively, from previous films, as the members of the pirate crews of Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa.[1][22] Adam Brown, Danny Kirrane, and Delroy Atkinson appear as members of Sparrow's crew.[23] In the prison scene, Paul McCartney briefly appears as Sparrow's namesake, Uncle Jack.[24]
Orlando Bloom reprises his role as Will Turner, a blacksmith-turned-pirate who was transformed into the Captain of the Flying Dutchman at the end of At World's End (2007).[25][26] Bloom wore barnacle prosthetics for the role, reflecting Turner's status as a psychopomp.[27] Keira Knightley briefly appears at the end in a non-speaking role as Elizabeth Swann, Will's wife and Henry's mother,[28] following the "demand" that the character be added after test screenings.[29] A CGI silhouette of Davy Jones is seen in the post-credits scene, but actor Bill Nighy stated that he had not been informed about the character's appearance.[30]
Shortly before the release of On Stranger Tides, the cast and crew of the fourth film were told to set aside time in the near future, because Walt Disney Pictures intended to shoot a fifth and sixth film back-to-back.[31] However, it was later stated that only a fifth film was in the works, with Terry Rossio writing a script for a fifth film without his partner Ted Elliott.[32] Rob Marshall was rumoured to return to direct,[33] but declined after choosing to direct Into the Woods (2014).[34] After Marshall passed on the film, many directors were rumored to take over.[35] Gore Verbinski, who was responsible for the original three films, felt that "there's no reason other than financial" in making the film.[36] The eventual shortlist included Fredrik Bond, Rupert Sanders, and the eventual choice, Norwegian film duo Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg.[37] The studio chose them based on their Academy Award-nominated high-sea film Kon-Tiki, and their ability to work with a limited budget.[38]
Rossio's script was ultimately rejected, and the writer stated that a major reason was its use of a female villain, which made actor Johnny Depp "worried that would be redundant to Dark Shadows, which also featured a female villain."[39] In January 2013, Disney hired Jeff Nathanson to work on a script.[40] Rnning and Sandberg said they were particularly moved by Nathanson's "funny and touching" script,[41] which convinced them to sign to direct in May,[42] Rnning believing that the script was "all there" but needed scenes to "carry the tradition of Gore Verbinski, bring the emotional core and big action set pieces."[8] In August, Rnning and Sandberg revealed that the title would be Dead Men Tell No Tales.[43] However, the following month producer Jerry Bruckheimer said, "We have an outline everyone loves but the script is not done," explaining that the release would be postponed beyond summer 2015.[38] The studio questioned Depp's bankability following the financial losses of The Lone Ranger (2013),[44] and the screenplay's first drafts were not approved by Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn, who was concerned about the finished product.[45] Bruckheimer revealed that script and budget issues were behind the delay, and that Nathanson was at work on a second draft, based on a well-received outline, saying they needed a script and budget everyone would approve.[38] Depp was also invited to collaborate on the script, with the actor believing it would be the last of the franchise and wanting to end it right.[46] After the script was accepted, the film was officially green-lit by Disney in July 2014, with a planned release on July 7, 2017.[47]
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