We've known all along that Disney was planning another Pirates of the Caribbean film, what with the last one bouncing back over the $1B mark worldwide, despite less than enthusiastic reviews. In fact, it was back in January of 2011 that franchise scribe Terry Rossio was hired to start work on the script. Maybe it wasn't very good, or they've just decided to go in a different direction, because Variety reports that Jeff Nathanson has been hired to write it.
It's unclear if he'll be working off of Rossio's script, but to me it sounds like a completely new draft. Nathanson's done some good work, such as Catch Me if You Can and The Terminal, but also some crap like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I think that last one was pretty good practice for 'Pirates'. That's three Steven Spielberg movies, by the way. Hey, didn't a vacancy just open up in Spielberg's schedule? Last we heard, Chris Weitz, Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Alfonso Cuaron, and Shawn Levy were on Disney's shortlist to direct.
Anyway, we have no plot details, but it's safe to assume Johnny Depp will be back and Jack Sparrow doing something foolish before too long.
