Disney is already searching for 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' director
The majority of critics seem to agree that from a creative standpoint, the听Pirates of the Caribbean听franchise has turned into听. Nevertheless, the series remains an unrivaled cash cow for Walt Disney Pictures and they鈥檙e understandably anxious to see it carry on. In fact, they had a script for听听in their hands before听was even released.
The domestic box office gross for the latest entry might be lower than that of its predecessors, but the studio has little reason to worry that audiences are starting to grow impervious to the charms of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). To date,听On Stranger Tides听has amassed more than $472 million outside of the U.S. and is on track to earn close to $1 billion听before听it hits DVD and Blu-Ray. The foreign market has become increasingly important to Hollywood and with numbers like that, another voyage aboard the Black Pearl seems all but inevitable.
Of course, Depp recently expressed his desire to space out further听Pirates of the Caribbeansequels and he already has his plate full with other projects 鈥� including Tim Burton鈥檚 big screen adaptation of the TV show听, a subversive re-imagining of the,听 and a remake of听听(which will reunite him with听On Stranger Tides听诲颈谤别肠迟辞谤 Rob Marshall).
Speaking of Marshall 鈥� he was offered the opportunity to helm听Pirates of the Caribbean 5back in January, but he has yet to formally accept or decline. Disney has evidently grown weary of the waiting game and according to听, they鈥檝e started looking into some other options.
It sounds like the job is still Marshall鈥檚 if he decides he wants it, but Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Shawn Levy, Chris Weitz, and Alfonso Cuar贸n are now in the mix as well.听CB鈥榮 鈥渕ost reliable source鈥� has indicated that Burton is currently the top pick (and was also sought forOn Stranger Tides听before Marshall landed the gig, apparently) 鈥� but they theorize that even though he has a longstanding working relationship with Depp,听 it鈥檚 extremely unlikely that he鈥檇 actually commit to the project.
So let鈥檚 take a look at the other contenders鈥�
Levy鈥檚 resume, which includes films like听Date Night,听Night at the Museum, and the upcoming听, indicates that he would probably be a good match for Disney鈥檚 family-friendly sensibilities 鈥� but there were moments in the first three听Pirates听movies that seemed to be testing the limits of their PG-13 ratings.听On Stranger Tides, on the other hand, seemed content to play it pretty safe. It never felt all that dangerous or inventive 鈥� so if they insist on pushing forward with a fifth film,听 it would be a lot more encouraging to see them go with a director who鈥檚 not afraid to take some risks and shake things up. To be honest, Levy just doesn鈥檛 really seem like that type of filmmaker.
The same goes for Weitz, who started out his career co-directing hits like听American Pie听补苍诲About a Boy听before moving on to big-budget fare like the ambitious misfire听The Golden Compass听补苍诲 the second听听film,听New Moon. He鈥檚 probably one of the most realistic options, but again 鈥� would he be capable of reinvigorating the听Pirates听蝉别谤颈别蝉?
Like Burton, Raimi and Cuar贸n probably wouldn鈥檛 be interested 鈥� which is unfortunate, because they鈥檙e definitely the most intriguing names mentioned. They鈥檝e both had experience working with tentpole franchises (Raimi with听听补苍诲 Cuar贸n with), but it鈥檚 difficult to imagine either of them grabbing the reins on something with so much mileage.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer previously revealed that further sequels would continue to act as听. That still seems like the best strategy, but听if听On Stranger Tidesproved anything it鈥檚 that the听Pirates of the Caribbean听films really need a director with a strong and unique vision calling the shots.
Source:听.
Chris Schrader blogs at .
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