It's billed as the biggest movie ever to be filmed in Australia, and it will all happen in Queensland.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5 will be filmed on the Gold Coast and in Port Douglas in the wake of Screen Queensland securing an exclusive deal with Walt Disney Studios.
The federal government offered a $21.6 million bounty and the Queensland government slashed payroll tax to fend off a competing bid by Mexico and interest from other Australian states.
Queensland Arts Minister Ian Walker said it was tremendous news for the state's film industry.
"Pirates will bring $100 million of investment to this state, and that flows through to jobs," he said.
"For example, we're already expecting 20,000 bed nights to be needed to accommodate the cast and crew when they go to North Queensland, and that'll be in the tourism industry's off-season," he said.
Johnny Depp is expected to return as Captain Jack Sparrow, and there are reports Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom will reprise their roles of Captain Barbossa and Will Turner.
But Mr Walker said the contract was only signed on Wednesday, and it was too early to confirm the cast.
"Pre-production is starting on the Gold Coast as we speak, and production of the film will start next year on the Gold Coast in February, before it moves to North Queensland," he said.
"You can tell from that timetable that the casting announcement won't be too far away."
Federal Arts Minister George Brandis said he was pleased the $21.6 million earmarked for the now-abandoned movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea could be transferred to Disney.
"As a Queensland Senator, I am particularly delighted to have been able to approve this proposal which will be Australia's largest ever contribution to the financing of a major film," he said.
Mr Walker said commercial-in-confidence arrangements meant he could not say how much Queensland's payroll tax exemptions were worth.
"But that's worth it for the $100 million that will flow through to our economy, worth it for the benefit the young kids [studying film] will have by way of a future in a film industry that's stable and has international productions like this coming here," he said.
Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira estimated 1000 jobs would be created during pre-production, filming and post-production, and the contract specified that a significant proportion should be local.
"We qualify the incentives that we do give based on their Queensland production expenditure, and very much Queensland cast and crew as part of that," she said.
"I'm very proud of the fact that the first person they hired once they decided to come here was the unit production manager, who is a Queenslander. It really sets the tone that they understand this is important to us."
A production budget had yet to be confirmed, but previous Pirates of the Caribbean films have cost about $250 million.
CEO of industry lobbyist AusFilm, Debra Richards, said it would be the largest international production ever to shoot in Australia.
"Pirates of the Caribbean will provide a powerful boost to both the domestic film industry and wider Australian economy," Richards said.
"Recently Unbroken, directed by Angelina Jolie, employed 3141 local cast, crew and extras and utilised goods and services from 1288 local vendors across Australia."
Griffith University film student Jonathan Burton said the announcement was great timing because he was in the final months of his degree.
The 20-year-old said bringing big budget films to Queensland could only improve his chances of fulfilling his goal of editing a Hollywood blockbuster.
"Film's really difficult in terms of getting a job," he said. "It's all about who you know and how well you can put your foot in the door.
"There's a couple of post-production houses in Brisbane which I'm going to try to get into...if anyone gets to cut Pirates, it'll be one of them."
