'Pirates Of The Caribbean 5' Is Coming In 2017 - Whether You Like It Or Not

Disney has confirmed that Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will be released on July 7, 2017 – a six-year gap between franchise entries. The tentpole, which stars Johnny Depp in the now-iconic lead role of Captain Jack Sparrow, was supposed to hit cinemas in the summer of 2015, but scripting issues have lead to major delays.

Disney will be looking forward to getting Dead Men off the ground; the last Pirates movie - On Stranger Tides - grossed $1.04 billion in 2011. So far, the franchise as a whole has accumulated something like $3.7 billion in ticket sales alone, and merchandise for the movies sells well, too.

More: 10 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Johnny Depp

What’s more, the company are on a roll: Frozen proved to be a hugely successful gamble, and with Star Wars Episode VII steadily leaking drips of information, 2016/2017 will, ostensibly, be a huge year. The weekend of July 7 hasn’t got any other releases scheduled, and it’s unlikely any major studios would want to go up against the powerhouse franchise, despite Depp’s recent slow form with both the critics and the box.

Disney production president Sean Bailey explained in the fall of 2013: "Like audiences around the globe, we have high expectations for Jack Sparrow's next adventure and we want to have all the right elements in place. We're not there yet and we want to make sure this project is everything these wonderful characters and of course the fans deserve."

_Next page: why Zoe Saldana almost quit Hollywood after The Curse of the Black Pearl

Recently, Zoe Saldana – who stars in Marvel’s upcoming and already-hyped movie, Guardians of The Galaxy – said she almost quit Hollywood after being treated badly during a small role in the 2003 Pirates film, The Curse of The Black Pearl.

“Those weren't the right people for me,” she told The Hollywood Reporter, who also broke the news about Dead Men's release date. “I'm not talking about the cast. The cast was great. I'm talking about the political stuff that went on behind closed doors. It was a lot of above-the-line versus below-the-line, extras versus actors, producers versus PAs. It was very elitist. I almost quit the business. I was 23 years old, and I was like, "F*** this!” she added.