'Pirates Of The Caribbean 5' Star Johnny Depp Suffers Hand Injury; Actor Spotted Flying To US For Surgery

More bad news from the Australia set of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” has come in the form of reports indicating its star, Johnny Depp, sustained a hand injury last weekend. Although the actor is in the midst of filming the fifth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise, he reportedly wasn’t working at the time of his accident, the details of which are undisclosed.

Australian news outlet Ninemsn published a photograph of the 51-year-old Depp boarding a private plane at Brisbane Airport Wednesday with his right hand appearing to be in some kind of medical wrap. He was seemingly forced to fly back to Los Angeles for hand surgery.

While the actor’s likely in a lot of pain, the news outlet noted he was laughing and joking with airport staff, even taking a moment to give media types a quick wave.

Unfortunately for those involved with the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” film, the principal star will be away from the set for about two weeks. According to TheWrap, production of the highly anticipated movie will be “minimally impacted” by his injury. The Walt Disney Co. has already confirmed it has no plans to change its summer 2017 release date because of the setback.

While Depp is away, the cast and crew will simply film as many scenes as they can that don’t involve Capt. Jack Sparrow. According to the recently released plot synopsis, Sparrow will find himself in dire straits once again when his old nemesis, Capt. Salazar (Javier Bardem), manages to escape the Devil’s Triangle with a crew of deadly ghost pirates, hell-bent on killing every pirate in the world. The only way the rum-loving Sparrow can save his people and himself is to seek out the Trident of Poseidon, which gives its wielder control over the seas.

Depp’s injury wasn’t the first time this week that the movie’s production has been met with an unusual circumstance. The set suffered a security breach when a man dressed as a pirate, complete with eye shadow and a parrot on his shoulder, infiltrated the set while reportedly brandishing a knife. Given his attire, many assumed he was an extra until he lashed out at a security guard. Luckily, nobody was injured, and the bogus pirate was arrested after a lengthy manhunt, according to Australia’s ABC News.

Assuming conditions quiet down on the set, fans can anticipate the next installment of the popular swashbuckling franchise to make a splash on the big screen July 7, 2017.