Is Johnny Depp somehow Johnny Depp-proof? With the early receipts for the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise now promising another blockbuster in the bag, it would appear that the actor’s somehow invulnerable to his own noxious public profile. Though the revelation that he had physically abused longtime partner Amber Heard came to light last year, it apparently hasn’t diminished his earning potential, and frustrating as that may be, it means we’re in for a whole lot more Depp. And if producer Jerry Bruckheimer has anything to say about, more Jack Sparrow in specific.

The movies are getting bigger all the time — quite literally in the case of ScreenX, a new theatrical format from Korean company CJ 4DPLEX, the same company behind the 4DX technology you may have already seen invade your local multiplex. (We wrote about that experience here.) ScreenX is described as a “270-degree panoramic film viewing experience within a theater setting,” where in addition to the standard screen at the front of the house there are two additional screens, one on either side. Here’s an image of what it looks like:

When last we saw Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow he was, I don’t know, doing pirate stuff probably? After the first Pirates of the Caribbean, 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl, all these movies began to blend together. Some sword fights, a mystical MacGuffin, an all-powerful bad guy, a couple battles at sea, blather, mince, repeat. Even though the latest, Dead Men Tell No Tales, comes from a new pair of directors (Kon-Tiki’s Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg), it’s basically indistinguishable from the three previous sequels, except that it’s even worse than they were.

Life kinda sucks when you’re a Disney pirate. One day you’re going about your business, plundering and looting in as family friendly a manner as you can muster, and the next thing you know you’re a undying ghost with all kinds of weird restrictions. Collect the gold, avoid moonlight, walk on water but not on land… honestly, is there even a rulebook for this sort of thing? The trial-and-error process these poor pirates must go through to figure out the boundaries of their life has to be exhausting.

Man, Johnny Depp is having one PR disaster after another these days. Between lat year’s abuse allegations to this month’s hot goss about his inability to stop himself from spending money, you’d think he’d have run out of messes to get himself into by now. Well, shockingly, you’d be wrong, because news just got out that Depp had rejected an early draft of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales script because its villain was a woman.

Since online pirates tend to view “don’t steal stuff” as more of a guideline than an actual rule, it’s no surprise that eventually they’d start taking aim at Hollywood. And, hey, why not start big, with, say, Disney, the biggest studio in the business? And instead of pilfering something like Coco, how about going after, I dunno, maybe Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth installment in one of the most recognizable brands worldwide? Well, that’s exactly what a group of hackers apparently did.

It would seem that there are two stages every iconic musician must got through in the twilight of their career: induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a guest spot in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Such was the case with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who  —  in a nod to Johnny Depp’s appropriation of elements of his persona  — appeared in two films as the father of Jack Sparrow. And now the franchise has pulled in another iconic musician, with Beatles legend Paul McCartney sharing his slightly foppish character.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t drinking coffee while I read last weekend’s Los Angeles Times article about the summer movie season; I would have done a spit take all over my computer.

The calendar may have four seasons, but Hollywood’s calendar only really has two at this point: summer and awards, and summer seems to last longer and longer ever year. Though the start of May has long been the unofficial kickoff of the S.M.S., 2017 has already seen a King Kong movie, a ghost in a shell, and the fate of Fast & Furious franchise. The change from April to May is something of a formality in 2017. Once the Oscars are over, the summer begins.

A certain branch of criticism against the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie back when it came out in 2011 focused on the fact that this was the first one with barely a trace of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, two characters we’d all grown to love through a trilogy of movies, and, arguably, who are the actual heart and soul of the series. Without them, On Stranger Tides felt adrift, unable to find an emotional focus despite introducing a new generation of generically attractive leads. The good news for those of us who have stuck with the series this far is, thanks to the new international trailer, we know Elizabeth is coming back too. Along with a few more of Captain Jack’s “friends.”