Actor Johnny Depp attends a red carpet event to promote his new movie "Transcendence", on his first visit to China
Actor Johnny Depp attends a red carpet event to promote his new movie "Transcendence", on his first visit to China in Beijing March 31, 2014. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The fifth instalment of the multi-billion-dollar franchise “Pirates of the Caribbean” could film in Australia. The country is hopeful that the Hollywood studio will choose Queensland over Mexico as its location for the Disney film.

The federal government agreed to the request of the Walt Disney Studios to provide U$20.2 million [A$21.8 million] incentive to shoot “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” in Australia. The package was originally offered by the Labor government to the “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” film remake, but it was halted after its director David Fincher departed from the project.

Disney asked that the incentive be reallocated to the new “Pirates 5” film instead, and increase the U$20.2 million to 30 per cent of the movie’s budget, which is estimated to be over $200 million.

“The government is pleased to agree to Disney’s request to enable earlier funding to be repurposed for the production of the Pirates of the Caribbean 5,” a rep for Arts Minister George Brandis said in a statement.

The film isn’t guaranteed to shoot production in the country yet, though. The studio is reportedly also considering an offer from Mexico to shoot at a giant water tank where the blockbuster “Titanic” by James Cameron was shot.

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) director of entertainment, crew and sport, Mal Tulloch, has been directly involved in the negotiation.

“We have agreed to fair and reasonable conditions,” he told If.com.au. “We welcome the federal government’s decision to make shooting in Australia more competitive and hope the incentive will be raised permanently to encourage more productions to come to Australia.”

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” starring Johnny Depp, is slated to start production in early 2015. It has a U.S. release date of July 7, 2017.