Variety is reporting that director Gore Verbinski, whose main claim to fame came from directing Disney’s blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” action-adventure trilogy to gross $2.6 billion worldwide, has decided that three pirate movies is enough. He’s informed Disney and producer Jerry Buckheimer that he won’t be directing the fourth installment, which is currently scheduled to start shooting in 2010.
Verbinski told the trade: “I had a fantastic time bringing ‘Pirates’ to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team. I’m looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future.”
Instead, Verbinski will focus on his adaptation of the bestselling video game BioShock for Universal Pictures, which is expected to start production in 2010 based on a script by John Logan.
Next up for Verbinski is the Paramount animated film Rango, also written by Logan, which is due for release on March 18, 2011. The filmmaker is also developing a new live action movie based on the Hasbro board game Clue, written by Steven Knight.
