I am reporting this bit of news from ComingSoon.net‘s interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer only because I am actually quite baffled talk of a Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has not died down or even come to a complete halt. As it turns out it is quite the opposite with Bruckheimer telling the site, “[Pirates of the Caribbean is] a great franchise for [Disney] and for us… We love the character and Johnny was really excited about coming back to Captain Jack. He certainly is interested in [playing] Tonto [in The Lone Ranger], but Disney’s priority is to get Pirates made first. You never know what’s going to happen, but they would like it.”
Bruckheimer then goes on to say writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot are writing the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean right now and the new film will be a “whole new way of going” without giving any plot details.
I guess my primary shock is that Depp is sticking with this one despite originally being known as someone that didn’t exactly go for the Hollywood blockbusters and sort of went his own way. His participation in the first Pirates came as a surprise and ultimately garnered him Golden Globe and Oscar nominations to go along with a win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The latter two films in the franchise were not looked upon as kindly, yet they still scored major dollars at the box-office. Is Pirates 4 a guaranteed cash cow? Certainly. Am I still surprised Depp wants to travel down that road again? Most definitely.
As for The Lone Ranger, rumors began to spread Prince of Persia helmer Mike Newell was going to take the reigns on that project, but Bruckheimer told ComingSoon, “We don’t have a director yet. He’s too busy on ‘Prince of Persia’ right now.”
