Javier Bardem eyeing the role of villain in 'Pirates Of The Caribbean 5'

Oscar winner Javier Bardem is in talks to join Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth installment in Disney’s blockbuster franchise.

"Christoph Waltz had been rumored to play the film's villain but Bardem currently holds the offer and is in discussions to tackle the part of Captain Brand, a ghost bent on revenge against Capt. Jack Sparrow, who he holds responsible for the murder of his brother," according to TheWrap.

Johnny Depp will reprise his role as Jack Sparrow. Geoffrey Rush is expected to reprise his role as Barbossa, who could team up with Capt. Brand. Other returning cast members will likely include Ian McShane and Stephen Graham, and there could be cameos from Orlando Bloom and Keith Richards as well.

This isn't the first pirate movie villain role Bardem's been up for this year. He was reportedly eyed for the role of Blackbeard in director Joe Wright's Peter Pan movie, a role that ultimately went to Hugh Jackman.

Bardem's wife, Penelope Cruz, was the female lead in the fourth installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. No word yet on whether she'll reprise her role for Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Pre-production on “Pirates” is already under way in Australia, where the big-budget sequel will be shot. The film will bow in July 2017.

Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, who got their sea legs with “Kon Tiki,” will direct.