By John Nugent | Posted 22 Aug 2017

Bill Nighy has spoken to Empire about the future of Pirates Of The Caribbean, and his particular role to play in the swashbuckling Disney franchise. To say any more might be entering minor spoiler territory, so those who would rather not have Dead Men Tell No Tales (or Salazar’s Revenge, as it’s known here in the UK) spoiled should stop reading now.

Still with us? Good. Nighy’s character, the many-tentacled Captain Davy Jones, appears in a post-credits sting at the end of the fifth Pirates film – but Nighy had no idea about it, despite technically appearing in the film, albeit in dialogue-free CGI form. “I didn't know anything about it until about a week ago,” he told Empire, who claimed he first learned of the cameo from a taxi driver.

“The cab driver said, ‘Are you doing the next one?’”, recounts Nighy. “I said, ‘No. I didn't know there was a next one.’ He said, ‘Well, you were in the last one’. I said, ‘No I wasn't’. He said, ‘Yes, you were’. So that's all I know. You probably know more than I do.”

Nighy last appeared as Davy Jones - with his knowledge and full consent, we should add – in the Pirates sequels Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. Though his character had seemingly perished at the close of the third film, this new post-credits sting in the fifth film appears to set up his return in future installments. Nighy says he would be open to reprising the character, but no official lines of communication have been opened with Disney. “I'd love to be in [another Pirates movie],” he told Empire. “I'd be there like a shot. But I have not been approached.”

Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar’s Revenge was released in May this year, and earned $776 million worldwide – a little less than the billion dollars earned by the previous film, but still healthy enough to warrant a sequel. It remains to be seen whether Bill Nighy will be back as Davy Jones; we can only hope for everyone's sake that they let him know next time.

Nighy will be next seen on screen stalking the streets of Victorian London in The Limehouse Golem, in cinemas 1 September.

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