Johnny Depp's hand injury delays production on 'Pirates'

LOS ANGELES: The production on " Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" in Australia will resume around April 15 after the shooting was shut down for several weeks following Johnny Depp's return to the US for hand surgery.

The producers had said that there would be "minimal impact" to the shoot as the delay was expected to be of two weeks but that break has now extended to at least four weeks, said the Hollywood Reporter.

Depp needed a pin inserted in a finger, following an off set accident in early March.

The actor is reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fifth installment of the hit franchise, alongside Geoffrey Rush and Javier Bardem.

The scenes without Depp are being shot after the actor's departure to the US on March 10.

About half of the 400 strong crew has been told that there would be no work for at least two weeks on the Disney movie, that is slated to release on July 7, 2017.