EXCLUSIVE: As Deadline Hollywood predicted last month, the Kon-Tiki directing team of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg have landed the job directing Pirates Of The Caribbean 5. Disney, Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have all signed off on the choice, and negotiations are underway on a deal that will make quickly. The duo will come aboard to prep the massive movie for a late year or early January start.
Related: Disney Closes On ‘Pirates 5′ Director: The Short List
The studio is getting the script ship-shape, and they are bullish after getting a rewrite from Jeff Nathanson. This is an enormous coup for the Norwegian directing team who just fell out of the Legendary Pictures film Spectral. I’d written recently about Disney’s short list, and the fact these guys were atop it. Fredrik Bond, who helmed The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman, was also on the list as was Snow White And The Huntsman helmer Rupert Sanders.This is a game-changing job for a director or directing team, and it’s a case of these guys getting hot at exactly the right time. All of the momentum for Rønning and Sandberg came from their remarkable Best Foreign Language Oscar-nominated film Kon-Tiki, a dramatization of Thor Heyerdal’s epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, in an effort prove it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. They made a lot of movie with a little money and showed they knew how to shoot on the water. As for Disney, the studio made an unexpected choice for the last film, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, with Rob Marshall, and that grossed over $1 billion. The directors are repped by UTA, which also reps Depp and Jeff Nathanson, so this is a pretty big piece of business for that agency. They are managed by Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
WTF happened to this franchise?
Part one was sooooooo good and then… poop.
Brucky should be more involved here. These movies suck.
I liked the 4th one the best. It’s all very subjective.
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Johnnie Depp should do a real movie where he plays a real character. He’s turning into a joke. Whatever happened to Donnie Brasco or Benny and June or Gilbert Grape. Johnnie come back from under the make up. Enough already.
I know I am crazy to ask the studios to kill their cash cow, or to expect Johnny Depp to go to his independent roots and create original interesting characters instead of collecting $$ to pay off his 75 million Dollars yacht. But for the love of humanity enough with the sequels. Please stop this insanity. Would the studios, at least stop after the 3rd installment, and not reboot the darn film for 20 years; so the new up and coming audience members enjoy it? I mean doesn’t Disney have multiple rides that he can turn into new films? Film business has become the old TV series with a fat ticket price attached to it, while most interesting stories are told on the TV. I am off to the gym to burn off some of this negative vibe. I mean F_ _ K!!!!
Best joke I heard for years….perhaps Disney wants the film to go straight to video… not sure of how many of you saw Kon-Tiki film but for me it was a travesty that it got a nomination…. the film was so badly directed and everybody went with it – another “Emperors new cloths” situation… as #5, “Pirates of the Caribbean” has to bring something new, innovative rather that this Norwegian lost duo….. got this business sucks because of people who have their heads up their asses…. my honest opinion!!!!!!
It’s gotten to a point where people are going to just go to see “Pirates” because they feel like they’re supposed to, and just sit in a daze at the theaters.
Sort of like church.
Ooh so edgy!
You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I haven’t enjoyed any of the Pirates films since the first, and yet I’ve seen all of them in the theaters and I will end up seeing this one as well. I think it comes from hopefulness that the series can return to the quality of the first film, however delusional that may be at this point.
Haw! One of the funniest analogies I’ve ever seen posted here.
They must not suck too much, they still make billions, and this one might do better overseas, than here in the states.
Please don’t tell me you think there is any correlation between revenue and quality. You know what other movies have made billions? The Star Wars prequels and the Transformers series, not to mention Alice in Wonderland. ‘Nuff said.
Movies that do better overseas than domestically are kinda the dictionary definition of sucky movies.
Kudos to the Pirate franchise for landing a terrific duo, UTA for a great package, and ignore sour grapes!
The Kon Tiki guys are just what the Pirates franchise needs for a return to form. They will make P5 the best one since the first.
It isn’t the director, the directing has been fine if uninspired for the last several. The difference is the fantastic script of the first followed by the completely impenetrable drivel of the 2-4.
I couldn’t agree more!
Awesome news!!! Kon Tiki was brilliant!!
Seriously guys? This is going to be your next movie after Oscar nominated Kon Tiki? Seriously? Why?
Not EVERYTHING has to be a franchise, Disney. It’s time to let this wrap and move on to something else.
What’s the intended plot for POTC 5? I know, maybe you can work a time-travelling tie-in with the Avengers or something. Corporate synergy and brand extension, ya know.
Nope.
So smart of Disney to hire the guys! Their film was excellent…if anyone can rejuvenate this franchise it’s them!
Everything about Kon-Tiki was brilliant – and that brilliance will translate into Pirates 5!
Counting the film Johnny is now filming, he will be doing 3 films before POTC 5.None of them are sequels or big budget films. Why is Johnny the only one being nailed to the wall for not making small independent films that no one watches? Good lord, Robert Downey is in the middle of 2 franchises. I remember one time Winona Ryder was asked why she agreed to be in an Alien sequel. She said, “I just wanted to be in a film that people actually saw.” The little festival films appeal to maybe 2% of the general public. Oh, and Johnny no longer has a yacht, it’s being sold. Thought I’d add that, as commenters here seem to think anything bought for pleasure is a sin. Don’t tell Spielberg.
There is nothing wrong with buying toys and getting super rich, however, once the artist becomes the tool of agents/managers/lawyers there is the danger of losing his/her ways. Johnny Depp was and still is omne of the great character actors of his generation. That is impressive because he is clearly a leading man who “chose” to play interesting lovable characters. But now we have reports like the Pirate 5 or another that I just read like this: “Johnny Depp exits Whitey Bulger biopic over salary dispute. Depp was asked to take half of his usual quote of $20 million, according to sources. http://bit.ly/11CP3aD “. Would you or someone now tell me who is making the decisions JD, his reps, or his fiance? There is nothing wrong with doing tent pole projects as long as it gets peppered in with some quality character/film indie or otherwise. I get an uneasy feeling that he may have crossed to the dark side thanks to his representatives — I hope I am completely wrong. Get back to character, it is always the character for any actor worth a bean. BTW: Alien film ruined Winona and for a good reason — in my humble opinion as talented and as much enjoyable to watch Downey Jr.is, talent wise he is nowhere near Depp. Downey left indie world with Less than Zero and I don’t recall him pushing the boundaries also character wise he left his best work with Chaplin. Expectations are much higher from an artist who bucked the system for so long, only to be do the exact opposite. If he keeps this up, he would be a super wealthy “he was so good back then” actor when he is getting to the ripe age for some of the best roles of his career. Anyways, thanks for istening. Cheers.
I heard everyone is freaking out over Lone Ranger and not in a good way! They think it will be WILD WILD WEST. THe stinker of summer. And Johnnie has sold out. Good work Tracey Jacobs. You’ve killed a great actor wtih your greed.
That is not true. The early screenings for members of the press and test audiences have received a great response. They are saying it reminds them of the first pirates film which is a good thing.
What an interesting – and quite refreshing – choice. Both Kon Tiki and Max Manus are well-told stories that do a lot with a little money. If foreign language nom list is where Hollywood is grabbing its next big franchise directors from, this could be a really good sign….
Wow…two foreign guys doing their first Hollywood movie ever and they choose number FIVE in a franchise with an insane movie star and a look out for himself producer who worships at the altar of “bigger is better.” Even if it makes money how does this help their career? They can only take the blame for this movie, none of the success. Then again that’s a fancy person problem, but they should have stuck to SPECTRAL or something unique.
Agreed. Who is giving them the advice to take Pirates 5? If it is a massive success like the other four, it won’t be because of them. If it does poorly, it will be because of them. it’s a shame they aren’t going to use their talents on something original.
hear, hear
If they do a good job will they get LONE RANGER 2?
Only if the first one sells enough merchandise.
Probably. But for now, I think The Lone Ranger is supposed to be what Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was originally supposed to be, meaning such as a stand alone movie.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love all of the POTC movies. I’m excited about #5, but I truly hope they can beg Orlando and Keira to make some sort of return -no matter how big or small. The fourth movie was really good but Will, Elizabeth and a lot of the steady crew were sorely missed.
Agreed. I’m quite thrilled that a 5th is coming out and I’m cautiously excited for the new directors.
If you’re a real fanboy of this series, and we are out there, Verbinskis trilogy is fantastic and the 4th missed his wit and grandeur. (High hopes for Lone Ranger) The 4th was unbearable. This creative choice is a good sign. Really needs to nail it’s script and be as inventive as 2 and 3. Davy Jones and his crew level of inventive. Don’t laugh, I mean every word of this.
WOW! I am very impressed that Disney picked those directors. Kon-Tiki was an excellent film…one of my favorites of the year. As a member of the Academy, I am thrilled that thes guys will be given a shot to direct such a massive franchise and am confident they will do a great job. I cannot help but feel that my vote for their film helped get them the recognition they so deserve which in turn helped in landing them this job. Major Kudos to Jerry, Alan, Sean and company for their classy taste!
We are do happy to har about the choice of directors. Hope this movie will turn out to be a fantastisk ending to this adventure!
I ve enjoyed all 4 films of the pirates franchise i have young kids and they love these pirate films Disney is going to keep milking this cow until it dries they made 1 billion on the last one People will go see #5 WHY NOT
Well I think it is going to be pretty fab and if it doesn’t work out well then that’s that. Pirates of the Caribbean is everything and one of Johnny’s best roles is Capt’n Jack Sparrow. I am very excited although I do hope somehow some of the previous characters that were a miss in Stranger Tides somehow return into this new adventure. I think that would really capture the viewers. I can not tell what these directors will do with the new film and how they go about it but I am eager to find out.
Can’t wait