Javier Bardem in talks to play the villain in fifth 'Pirates' film

With Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush both returning for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth film in the hit franchise, fans have turned their attention to which actor will play the film’s villain.

Now, sources have confirmed to EW that Javier Bardem is in early talks to fill that role. WithJoachim Ronnin and Espen Sandbreg directing, the film’s plot has remained under wraps for the most part, but 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.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales begins shooting in Australia next year.