Filming stops on Pirates of the Caribbean as wait continues for Johnny Depp to return to the Gold Coast

FILMING on Pirates of the Caribbean has wrapped as the world waits for Johnny Depp to tell the film’s producers when he will return to Australia.

"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES" JOHNNY DEPP is the unscrupulous but freedom-loving Captain Jack Sparrow. Ph: Peter Mountain �Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FILMING on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has wrapped as the world waits for Johnny Depp to tell the film’s producers when he will be able to return to Australia.

The fate of the Gold Coast-filmed Pirates 5 blockbuster — the biggest film made in Australia — should be known in 10 days.

Cameras stopped rolling on the $250 million Jerry Bruckheimer co-production overnight after the last scenes able to be shot without Depp, who plays Captain Jack Sparrow, were completed.

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At least 200 jobs were put on ice on Friday, with sources saying up to 450 cast and crew will have been stood down by the end of this week.

The film shoot was plunged into chaos after the billion-dollar franchise’s star returned to Los Angeles earlier this month after injuring his right hand during a wild weekend on the Coast.

Production sources said Depp had undergone surgery to have a pin inserted into his hand and was now undergoing “in-home rehab” for alcohol abuse — a claim yesterday denied by the film’s producers.

Work has ground to a halt on the Gold Coast set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Picture: Mike Batterham

“I would like to be absolutely clear that Johnny Depp is not in home rehab for alcohol,” a spokesman for the production said.

“He is recuperating from his injury and surgery on his hand. The delay is not extended. It is dependent upon recuperation from surgery.”

Depp’s absence has caused filming to grind to a halt and there are now fears the whole project will be mothballed until he is fit to resume shooting.

Johnny Depp boards a plane at the Brisbane Airport to fly back to the US for treatment on his hand. Picture: Annette Dew

Crew members still working this week are believed to be “battening down the hatches” and packing away expensive equipment at huge sets at Maudsland and Helensvale.

Affected workers include construction, catering, art department, security, costume and wardrobe staff.

“I had to give up a job somewhere else to go and work on the film,” one angry worker said yesterday.

“Everyone wants to know if Johnny Depp is going to pay us all to compensate us for the two weeks’ pay we’ve all lost.”

Filming had only just started on the Helensvale set of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie before it was shut down while Johnny Depp recuperates from a hand injury. Photo: Richard Gosling

The film’s producers are due to report back to representatives from the Media Arts and Entertainment ­Alliance on April 10 to confirm if filming will resume on April 15.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is slated for worldwide release in July 2017.