What We Know about "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" So Far

Ye be warned! This post definitely contains spoilers!

1.) The film will be directed by Norwegian duo Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg. They've previously collaborated on Bandidas, a wild-west film starring Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, as well as a couple episodes of the Netflix series Marco Polo.

2.) It's currently slated for a release date of July 7, 2017.

3.) The only confirmed casting so far includes Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, The Giver's Brenton Thwaites as "British Soldier - Henry" (who is rumored to be Orlando Bloom's character's son), and The Maze Runner's Kaya Scodelario in an undisclosed role. 

4.) Rumored casting hints at the returns of several characters from the original trilogy including Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa, Jack Davenport as James Norrington, Martin Klebba as Marty, and Keith Richards as Captain Teague. 

5.) Javier Bardem and Christoph Waltz have both been approached to play the villain. No final casting has been confirmed.

6.) That said, the villain in question is said to be the "murderous, ghostly" Captain Brand. Some vague plot details have been revealed, but nothing is confirmed yet.

7.) From IMDb: "Norrington, Pintel, Ragetti, and the rest of the former pirates that were from the original 3 are rumored to be returning as members of Will Turner's crew, since all of them have died since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Pintel, Ragetti, and Marty died off camera between At World's End and On Stranger Tides, while Norrington dies in At World's End saving Elizabeth from Davy Jones."

8.) From IMDb: "This will be the first Pirates of the Caribbean film to have Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbossa), and Jack Davenport (James Norrington) teaming up together."

9.) Orlando Bloom has stated that this film will be a "soft reboot" of the previous installments.

Take all these points for what they're worth. Anything could happen between now and July 2017. Stay tuned to your social media and Hollywood news outlets (like this blog!) for developments.