Johnny Depp needs surgery after injuring hand off set in Australia, reports
Pirates of Caribbean 5 will be 'minimally' impacted by the actor's absence, said film spokesman
Actor Johnny Depp is reportedly being flown back to the U.S. for surgery after injuring his hand in Australia where he was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, according to a number of industry reports.
It's not clear how the 51-year-old was hurt, but the actor, who plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the popular pirate series, was not working at the time, reports Variety.
Production on the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise started in February on Australia's Gold Coast.
Depp's departure will have a "minimal" impact on filming, a spokesman for the production told The Hollywood Reporter, and Disney still expects to hit the target release date of July 7, 2017.
- FILM REVIEW | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The last instalment in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, grossed more than $1 billion dollars worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales picks up on Captain Jack Sparrow as he's being pursued by old nemesis Captain Salazar (played by Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem) and his crew of ghost pirates, who are hell-bent on killing every pirate at sea.
Australian actor Geoffery Rush will reprise his role as Captain Hector Barbossa in the movie. Kon-Tiki duo Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning are directing.