'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' Release Date, Casting Rumors: Javier Bardem In Talks For Villain Role In 2016 Movie

While earlier delays had pushed back Pirates of the Caribbean 5's release date to 2016 at the earliest and a production start to 2015, recent updates for the adventure film have been rolling in quite nicely. In fact, the latest casting news is a rumor that Javier Bardem will take on Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow in the blockbuster film.

Bardem's rumored casting pushes the recent Cristoph Waltz speculation further down the list of stars for the villain role, but no confirmation has been made yet. Plenty of websites including The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap are backing up this news.

According to The Wrap, returning cast members include Depp, Geoffrey Rush and most likely Ian McShane and Stephen Graham.

The role of the villain is Captain Brand, someone from Sparrow's past. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Bardem would play a ghost captain who blames Sparrow for the death of his brother and is searching for a supernatural object to aid him."

Bardem's wife, Penelope Cruz, starred opposite Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but will we see the married couple starring together in this new chapter? We'll have to wait for official announcements on this news in the coming months.

Bardem's representatives have not responded to this rumor yet, nor has Disney. For now we can just speculate around the Skyfall star's role.

Would you like to see Bardem in Pirates of the Caribbean 5? Is he the right actor for this role? Let us know in the comments section below!