Pirates of the Caribbean 4 News

Breaking news regarding the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise:

Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at this week's Disney's D23 Expo today in Anaheim, California. Riding in on a giant ship and decked out in complete Jack Sparrow garb, Depp confirmed the following:

Film number-four will be titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It will be released in the summer of 2011.

Good name? Yay or nay?

It looks like Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has found a director.

Rob Marshall, who was behind the camera for Oscar-winning Chicago, will jump into Disney's never-ending franchise, according to Variety.

The publication reports that Marshall is "on the verge" of joining the series, allowing the highly-anticipated film to be back back on track for a 2010 production start.

Johnny Depp will return as Captain Jack Sparrow, though the status of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are in doubt. Most insiders expect neither to be asked back.

"Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have been meeting with a number of directors in recent weeks, because the studio wants to pull the Pirates film together and have Depp star in it before he does The Lone Ranger for the producer and the studio," read the article in Variety. "While Marshall's involvement wasn't immediately confirmed, sources said things look good enough that the studio has begun casting new characters that will appear in the picture."

Might Gore Verbinski be as troubled by the prospect of a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film as we are?

The director, who helmed all three films in Disney's blockbuster trilogy, will not return for the upcoming follow-up.

According to Variety, producer Jerry Bruckheimer had been hoping the filmmaker would return for one more outing, especially once Johnny Depp signed up to reprise the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Alas, it was not meant to be, as Verbinski will instead focus on the movie Bioshock.

"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," the director said. "I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again the future."

The next Pirates of the Caribbean movie will begin filming in 2010.

Sorry, corset fans:

Keira Knightley has ruled herself out of Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

In an interview with Moviefone, the actress said: "It was a completely fantastic experience, and it was an amazingly large portion of my life, but I don't think I need to go there again... I think that it's done. But I'm very excited to see the next one. And [Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow] is so wonderful in that character. I think it'll be wonderful."

Bill Nighy wants to reprise his role in Pirates Of The Caribbean 4.

Granted, Davy Jones was killed at the conclusion of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. But so what, the actor asks?

“I am technically dead but then again, who cares?” Nighy said to MTV News. “Everybody dies in the pirates movies. They killed Johnny [Depp] and Geoffrey [Rush]. Death is not permanent in the pirate world. I have a serious desire to come back.”

As rumors have stated, Russell Brand might appear alongside Johnny Depp in the next installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise?

But when MTV asked the actor about that possibility, Brand didn't give an indication in either direction.

“I’ve seen some talk about that matter but I think they’re still writing the script,” he said, jokingly adding: “I am having a skull and crossbones tattooed on each of my nipples in anticipation of the plotline. I just hope it doesn’t affect my other work in Jane Austen adaptations.”

Might Russell Brand appear in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 after all?

The rumor have been floating around for weeks. Though it appeared to be shot down recently, Great Britan's The Sun is reporting that the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is in the middle of negotiating a contract to star opposite Johnny Depp:

"[The actor] is thrashing out a deal to appear in Pirates of The Caribbean 4 — as Captain Jack Sparrow's brother," source said. "The deal to play Jonathan, younger brother of Johnny Depp's character, could be worth $5 million."

Russell Brand sure does look like he's related to Captain Jack Sparrow, doesn't he?

While initial Pirates of the Caribbean 4 spoilers have already been shot down, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has revealed a couple small scoops regarding the wildly-anticipated movie.

Asked whether or not he might consider gearing another Pirates of the Caribbean installment to IMAX - based on the success Warner Bros. had with The Dark Knight - Bruckheimer said:

"Absolutely. I'd love to do it, so let's just see if we can work it through the production schedule with everything else."

As for the release date of the fourth Captain Jack Sparrow vehicle, the producer could only guess:

"I think they're pushing towards 2012... Hopefully, we can make it we'll see."

Following the confirmation of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, many rumors and spoilers have been leaked online.

One of the strangest, though, stated that High School Musical star Zac Efron would be appearing in the Johnny Depp movie. That's news to Efron, however.

"Honestly, at this time it's just a rumor," Efron told Ryan Seacrest on the the latter's radio show this week. "I wish I was going to be in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, so hopefully that will happen for me."

Efron is trying to move beyond the High School Musical franchise. He'll be starring in 17 Again this spring alongside Matthew Perry and Leslie Mann.

About those Pirates of the Caribbean 4 spoilers? They may be a bit premature.

Terry Rossio, co-screenwriter of the first three films in the franchise, says the various rumors that are going around about Pirates of the Caribbean 4 are way off base. They've ranged from Johnny Depp receiving $56 million for the fourth movie... to Tim Burton directing... to Sacha Baron Cohen and Russell Brand co-starring.

"For the record, none of the recent Pirates 4 rumors have any truth, including the so-called record 50 million dollar payday for Depp," Rossio said. Some pretty funny stuff, though. Sacha Cohen? Tim Burton? Studios are way too protective of their franchises for that sort of thing."

Captain Jack Sparrow will utter many funny quotes. That's all that's known about Pirates of the Caribbean 4 at the moment.