Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is getting ready to pull up the anchor and set sail into theaters on May 18th, but even though that release is still a couple weeks away, it seems the screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean 5 has already been completed (or at least the first draft has anyway).
It was revealed a few months ago that Disney had set Pirates writer Terry Rossio to script a fifth flick, and now THR says that he turned in the screenplay over the weekend, which is the first in the Pirates of the Caribbean series that he wrote without his longtime co-writer, Ted Elliott.
The presumption was when the announcement about Rossio writing Pirates 5 was made in January, was that it was because the House Of Mouse wanted to ensure there was as little time between sequels as possible. However, it seems that franchise star Johnny Depp wants to hold off on Pirates of the Caribbean 5 until they can ensure all the pieces are perfect – especially as it’s said he didn’t like the intense schedule of making Pirates 2 & 3 back-to-back. Here’s what the actor had to say below, “It boils down to story, script and filmmaker. It’s not something where I would say, ‘Let’s shoot it next month to get it out by Christmas 2012.’ We should hold off for a bit. They should be special, just like they are special to me.”
Depp has not read the Pirates of the Caribbean 5 script by Terry Rossio yet, so perhaps he’ll be so impressed he’ll want to make the movie tomorrow, but dont’ bet on.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is definitely up for a fifth flick though, and he and Disney have already made overtures to On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall about returning, although a deal hasn’t officially been signed yet.