The Kidd here...
You knew it was inevitable for Disney to get another chapter of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise into the water as soon as they got the chance. After all, ON STRANGER TIDES floated into the billion-dollar movie club, so clearly there's still interest and demand in Johnny Depp in Captain Jack Sparrow.
What is a bit surprising with Disney's decision to move forward with PIRATES 5 though is that it won't be with Terry Rossio penning the script. Rossio has been involved since the beginning, co-writing with his partner Ted Elliott from the CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL on before handling the writing duties solo for ON STRANGER TIDES.
Instead Disney has tapped Jeff Nathanson to write the screenplay, according to Variety. That insures some sort of a fresh voice taking on these characters that seemed awfully tired last time out. At least the first three flicks had some entertainment value to them, if you can look past their incredibly convoluted plots and numerous subplots, but perhaps Rossio had overstayed his welcome with the material. (Seriously...? Did everyone have to become a pirate at one point or another?)
Nathanson has a mixed bag of projects to his credit with CATCH ME IF YOU CAN being his best, SPEED 2 being his worst, and plenty falling in-between, from the RUSH HOUR sequels to THE TERMINAL to TOWER HEIST to a draft of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL during that film's development.
Depp will be back for this next picture, although there's no telling if any of the other franchise staples will be reprising their roles just yet.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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