“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” – Begins Production in Australia (Disney News Release)

DISNEY/JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS’ “PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES” BEGINS PRODUCTION IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Johnny Depp Returns to His Iconic Academy Award-nominated Role of Captain Jack Sparrow

QUEENSLAND, Australia (February 17, 2015) – Production has commenced on location in Australia on Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ epic comedy adventure “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” directed by Espen Sandberg & Joachim Rønning (“Kon-Tiki”), the fifth entry in the blockbuster franchise inspired by the classic Disney Theme Parks attraction, which has reaped $3.7 billion in worldwide box office. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” will film entirely at Village Roadshow Studios and on locations within Queensland, Australia.

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 R. 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

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jeff Nathanson (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”). The executive producers are Chad Oman, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. and Brigham Taylor.

Joining Bruckheimer, Sandberg & Rønning for the swashbuckling new voyage is a first-tier group of award-winning behind-the-scenes artists—many of them new to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” family—including director of photography Paul Cameron (“Gone in Sixty Seconds,” “Déjà Vu,” “Collateral”), production designer Nigel Phelps (“Pearl Harbor,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “World War Z”), costume designer Penny Rose (all four “Pirates of the Caribbean” films), visual effects supervisor Gary Brozenich (“The Lone Ranger,” “Edge of Tomorrow”), Oscar®-winning special effects production consultant John Frazier (nine Jerry Bruckheimer films and dozens of others) and special effects supervisor Dan Oliver (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), supervising stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”) and stunt coordinators Thomas Robinson Harper (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) and Kyle Gardiner (“San Andreas,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”), Academy Award®-winning makeup and hair designer Peter Swords King (“The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, “Into the Woods”) and film editors Joel Cox ( “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “American Sniper”) and Gary D. Roach (“American Sniper”).

The exciting filmmaking team of Sandberg & Rønning directed “Kon-Tiki,” the critically acclaimed story of famed explorer Thor Heyerdahl, which was nominated for both an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe Award® for Best Foreign Language Film from their native Norway. Following their work as award-winning commercial and music video directors, Rønning and Sandberg directed the World War II action drama “Max Manus: Man of War” before taking on “Kon-Tiki.” Most recently Rønning and Sandberg served as executive producers and directed the first two episodes of Netflix’s big-scale mini-series “Marco Polo,” which they filmed on exotic locations in Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Venice. A second season was recently announced for “Marco Polo,” with Rønning and Sandberg continuing on as executive producers.

First in partnership with Don Simpson, and then as the chief of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Bruckheimer has produced an unprecedented string of worldwide smashes, impacting not only the motion picture and television industries, but mass culture as well. His film and television productions have been honored with numerous awards and nominations, including six Academy Awards®. In addition to his prolific television credits, Bruckheimer’s films include “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “American Gigolo,” “Flashdance,” “Bad Boys,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Remember the Titans,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down,” “National Treasure,” “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” “The Lone Ranger” and “Deliver Us From Evil.” He is the producer of all four previous “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.