Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp was jetting back to the United States Wednesday for surgery after injuring his hand in Australia where he is filming the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” instalment, reports said.
Depp, who stars as “Captain Jack Sparrow” in the Disney franchise and has been shooting on the Gold Coast tourist strip in Australia’s east, was hurt over the weekend but not while filming or on set, the Gold Coast Bulletin said, citing undisclosed sources.
A Disney spokesman confirmed the injury to the newspaper and said the film’s release remained scheduled for July 7, 2017.
US-based website Variety said he would need surgery. It was not known how he sustained the injury or how serious it was.
The Bulletin said Depp was flying to Los Angeles on a private jet and would return to Australia in two weeks.
It added that his absence would only “minimally” impact the production schedule of the film, which also stars Javier Bardem as villain Captain Salazar.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” is the fifth instalment in the blockbuster series, which has raked in more than US$3.6 billion at the box office.
The reported injury came as local police said a man dressed as a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder and carrying a knife tried to enter the movie set on Tuesday but was intercepted by a security guard.
Police said the man “was attempting to imitate a cast member by wearing a pirate suit”. He was being interviewed but no charges have yet been laid.
