Despite how aggressively mediocre Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was, Disney is still marching forward with a fifth film in the series, with casting rumors emerging for a new female lead.
According a Variety report, five actresses are in the running for the role, three up-and-comers, and two more established actresses. That being said, even the more recognizable ones are still pretty early on in their careers, which definitely makes it look like Disney wants some fresher faces for this movie (or they just want to save some money on the cast).
The role is rumored to be the love interest of Brenton Thwaites’ character, who was cast a few weeks ago. Thwaites plays a British soldier who teams up with Jack Sparrow, a role that sounds a lot like On Stranger Tides‘ thing with that missionary and the mermaid.
This group of actresses have reportedly already been approached, and will undergo screen tests to test their chemistry with Thwaites soon.
They are:
1. Kaya Scodelario
Kaya Scodelario is likely the biggest name on this list given her recent starring role in The Maze Runner. She’s also had smaller parts in Moon and Clash of the Titans.
2. Gabriella Wilde
Wilde had a pretty significant role in 2013’s Carrie, and was also featured in Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers.
3. Lucy Boynton
One of the newer faces on this list, Boynton has only had a few feature roles. Her biggest was arguably 2006’s Miss Potter, which also starred Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.
4. Alexandra Dowling
Dowling has appeared in a couple of big TV series, but most of them were blink-and-you’ll-miss-her roles. She was in one episode of Game of Thrones as Roslin Frey, as well as an episode of Merlin. She recently got a big break with the BBC’s The Musketeers though, starring as Queen Anne.
5. Jenna Thiam
Out of all of the actresses on this list, Jenna Thiam’s work is probably the hardest to find, as she’s really only worked in her home country of France. Your best shot at seeing her is in the original French version of The Returned.
What else do we know about the movie?
Aside from this actress shortlist and Thwaites’ casting, we also know that Javier Bardem and a bad haircut are on board as the main villain.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is of course on board (it’s hard to imagine a Pirates movie without him), and Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Jack Davenport, and Ian McShane have all been rumored to have been approached, but we have no confirmation on that end yet.
The film will likely be titled Dead Men Tell No Tales, will be directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, and is aiming for July 7, 2017 release date.
