On last night’s Fear the Walking Dead, Disney premiered the first trailer from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Check it out below!
This fifth installment in the Pirates series sees Captain Jack Sparrow on the run, as usual. But this time, he’s running from ghosts. Lead by the evil Capitan Salazar (Javier Bardem), this motley crew of gray, mangled pirates recalls what makes the series so fun. When the supernatural stuff in these movies works, they’re a blast.
Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Pirates movies, knows horror. He directed The Ring, after all. And it would appear that his influence is here in full force — along with a splash of Guillermo del Toro. Salazar’s cracked face and the way his clothes and hair sway, as if underwater, are chilling details that recall The Devil’s Backbone. So it would appear, at least for now, that directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg really get this franchise on a visual level.
This film also marks the return of Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, now the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Series staple Geoffrey Rush is returning as well. When we last saw him, his dastardly Captain Barbossa commandeered Blackbeard’s ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge. Series newcomers Brenton Thwaites (seen behind bars in this trailer) and Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner series) will hopefully make more of an impact than the peripheral characters from the previous film.
This series, for all its undeniable verve, has big character problems. Jack Sparrow doesn’t really make for a good protagonist. He’s best in smaller doses. But the Orlando Blooms and Sam Claflins and Brenton Thwaiteses of this franchise are never terribly interesting. Hopefully, this new Pirates will find the right balance, between a solid protagonist and Sparrow’s kooky antics.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales sails ashore on May 26, 2017. In the meantime, watch Kon-Tiki, the great movie that got Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg the directing gig on Pirates.
P.S. – I clearly saw a dead man telling a tale in this trailer. I dare you to disagree with me.