Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the directors of the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film Kon-Tiki, have landed the job of directing Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which will again star Johnny Depp.
The directing duo’s names were first linked to the production earlier this month, when Deadline reported that the studio and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had a shortlist of potential directors. Other names on the list included Rupert Sanders and Fredrik Bond, but Ronning and Sandberg seemed like the most likely candidates to land the gig.
Deadline then reported Wednesday night that they have officially been hired. The Norwegian team made Kon-Tiki in 2012 and the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language film. Clearly, Disney must have liked what they did on the seas, since that film tells the real tale of Thor Heyerdal’s 1947 trip in the Pacific to prove that it could be navigated on a raft.
Pirates 5’s script is getting a re-write from Jeff Nathanson before it heads to production in January. It’s set for a July 10, 2015 release.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides grossed $1 billion worldwide and was directed by Rob Marshall. Depp is expected to work with MArshall again on Disney’s Into The Woods musical.
Depp stars in Disney’s The Lone Ranger, which opens on July 3.
image: Amazon