Latest Pirates of the Caribbean film provides yet more treasure

SHIVER me timbers, Captain Jack Sparrow is back, as the latest Pirates of the Caribbean hits cinemas this week.

The fifth instalment in the swashbuckling series, Salazar’s Revenge sees the eccentric pirate seeking the Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artefact that grants its owner total control over the seas.

Jack believes the artefact can help him to defeat his old nemesis, Armando Salazar, an undead pirate hunter for the Spanish Navy who is determined to kill pirates at sea.

The film sees cast members Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley returning to their roles as Captain Jack Sparrow, Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann.

New guy Javier Bardem, who plays Salazar, said: “There are new characters, which is going to bring a new flavour, a different dimension to one of the most-powerful franchises of all time.”

Joining the cast are Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario as characters Henry Turner — son to Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann — and Carina Smyth.

Orlando said: “I’ve seen the movie and it’s fantastic.

“For a lot of people, the first movie is their favourite and we wanted to bring the film back into line with that. So the narrative is similar.”

A screening of this film at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas received highly-positive reactions.

The film series began with the first movie, The Curse of the Black Pearl, in 2003. It was expected to be a flop, but it actually was a hit and made $650 million in the box office.

Blacksmith Will Turner requires the help of Captain Jack Sparrow to save his true love, Elizabeth Swann, from Jack’s former first mate, Captain Hector Barbossa and his crew, who are immortal as a result of stealing cursed Aztec gold.

Three sequels followed, and now the saga is being continued with Salazar’s Revenge.

In total, the Pirates film series has made more than $3.7 billion in the box office, so you’d think that producers would want to milk it for all its worth.

There had been suggestions that this will be the last film in the series but director, Joachim Rønning, has said that Salazar’s Revenge is only the beginning to the final adventure, implying that a sixth film could be in the works.

If Javier had his way, he’d return as well, by the sounds of things, with the Spaniard revealing he really enjoyed working with Johnny Depp, to the extent that he became a spectator.

“I was watching him doing it, and then I’d think: ‘Oh! I have to say a line now!’” he recalls.

“But I really was having the best time watching him do what he does.”

Johnny modestly suggests that the character is just easy for him, as we are all like Jack inside.

“He’s a safe character to play,” he says. “You could do the dumbest things and people giggle. There’s a part of Captain Jack that we all have inside.”

So, watch this space. If the success of the previous films is anything to go by, we haven’t seen the last of Jack Sparrow yet.

Salazar’s Revenge is out on Thursday, May 25.