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Disney Gets 'Catch Me If You Can' Writer for the Fifth 'Pirates' Movie

by Ben Pearson
January 13, 2013
Source: Variety

Many will argue that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth entry in Disney's series, was wholly unnecessary. But when the film made over a billion dollars at the international box office, it was clear audiences were still captivated by the ongoing adventures of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, even without previous well known castmates like Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Now the Mouse House has locked down a writer for the next installment in the franchise, as Variety reports that Catch Me If You Can screenwriter Jeff Nathanson has been chosen to pen the further exploits of our favorite rum-loving pirate.

Plot details are being kept buried in a metaphorical treasure chest at this point, which is to be expected with any high profile project this far away from production. While many might look at Catch Me If You Can and think that Nathanson is an improvement over previous writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, a further examination of his filmography reveals that he also wrote Speed 2: Cruise Control, the story for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and is a frequent collaborator of Brett Ratner's, having written the scripts for Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 3 and Tower Heist. Yikes. That isn't exactly the work that can get us excited about the possibilities of a probably unnecessary fifth entry into a huge franchise, but we'll reserve final judgment until an actual director is brought into the fray and we get a sense of the story progression.

As far as we know, the filmmakers also need Depp to officially sign on for this sequel, but let's be honest: if they throw the right amount of money at him, he'll probably come back (even if it isn't the $95 million payday that was rumored last year). We'll have to keep our eyes out for any more updates, in the meantime it sounds like Disney is getting Pirates 5 back in active development. Anyone excited for this next sequel?

Filed under Development, Movie News

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