The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides, may not be out until May 18th, but the franchise is such a huge one for Disney, that there are already rumours they want to shoot the fifth and sixth films back-to-back next year. While that hasn’t been confirmed (and will largely depend on whether Johnny Depp agrees), they’re busy getting ready for more Pirate adventures, with Deadline reporting that they’ve closed a deal with Terry Rossio to script the fifth movie.
Rossio has had a hand in the screenplays for all the Pirates movies, but this will be the first one he’s written without screenwriting partner Ted Elliott. The writer will now be able to go off on his own and come up with script, while everyone else is consumed with finishing On Stranger Tides. This should ensure that once the fourth Pirates movie is in cinemas, the next sequel will already be in the pipeline and ready to get into pre-production.
Disney is apparently also keen to get director Rob Marshall to sign on for another Pirates voyage, which suggests they’re more than happy with the work his done so far for On Stranger Tides. Johnny Depp’s deal for part four also includes the option for more of Jack Sparrow in further sequels, but he isn’t locked in yet, and has suggested he won’t even think about it until he’s seen a script.