Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Poster: A Swashbuckling Staring Contest

The swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns to the big screen this summer for the fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This newest installment seems to largely ignore the less-than-spectacular fourth film, with the return of original star Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, and the addition of new characters Carina (Kaya Scodelario) and Henry (Brenton Thwaites). The international trailer for the film was released earlier this month, as a follo- up to the two earlier trailers.

With the film’s release coming in May, Disney is ready to start spreading the word in the international market, and they’ve done just that with a new poster. The image is in keeping with what has been seen before, but it focuses more on the central conflict of the movie.

The poster (via Coming Soon), shows Captain Jack Sparrow and the undead Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) facing off in profile, with the hull of a ship in the background. The ship looks like it may have been run aground, but it is difficult to see if it is in the water or not. It is definitely a wreck, and this may be the same skeleton of a ship that has been seen in early trailers.

The poster is in German, and reveals that the German title of the film will be ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Rache‘ which translates to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge‘. This puts a more direct spin on the film’s storyline, as the former pirate-hunter comes back from the dead to track down the pirate (Sparrow) who first destroyed him.

This seems to answer the question of just how much of the movie will revolve around the relationship between Salazar and Sparrow, as opposed to the quest that Sparrow must go on to find the Trident of Poseidon and save his skin. With any luck the film will strike the right balance between its star and the new characters who are going to be (presumably) taking the franchise forward. Of course, it’s not unusual for an international poster to include changes in the name of the film, and this may simply be an issue of translation, not of content. It’s also important to remember that this is only one of many posters for the film, with other images putting the focus on other elements of the upcoming film.