'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' Is Happening, But Later Than Expected

Get ready to set sail again...in 2017.

"Pirates of the Caribbean 5" officially has a release date, and it looks like fans are going to have to wait a while before they see the continued adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.

The movie is set for July 7, 2017, according to a statement from Disney today. That gives the studio plenty of time to produce the movie, but it does put it up against some potentially stiff competition the following week in "Despicable Me 3" and "Fantastic Four 2."

That's a big leap back from the original release date for the movie, which was going to be in the summer of 2015. However, the film was delayed due to "script issues" and due to longtime producer Jerry Bruckheimer leaving for Paramount.

On the plus side, that gives hope that this could finally be the "Pirates" movie that will truly revive the series: Recent installments in the franchise have been over-long and convoluted, and have suffered waning interest from fans and increasingly bad reviews from critics as a result.

However, even if it does revive the franchise, one has to expect that this will be the final movie in the series to star Johnny Depp, who is getting on in years and has to grow tired of playing Jack Sparrow at some point.