Verbinski Officially Declines 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'
A decision that only makes sense
Director Gore Verbinski has officially stated he is not interested in directing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 for Walt Disney, all while Johnny Depp has agreed to return as Captain Jack Sparrow and the studio was hoping to begin production in 2010. Verbinski spent the better part of the last six years directing the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and it only makes sense he wouldn't want to return for another installment in a decision I would assume Peter Jackson dealt with before handing over the directorial duties on the two upcoming Hobbit films to Guillermo del Toro.
Verbinski certainly has plenty on his plate to deal with in the meantime, including the much talked about videogame adaptation Bioshock for Universal Pictures and the CG-animated film Rango with Paramount that coincidentally includes Johnny Depp as the lead voice.
As for storylines, Bioshock is an adaptation of the Take-Two videogame, which takes place in an underwater city based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city, called Rapture, and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he’d thought. John Logan (Sweeney Todd) wrote the script and also penned the script for Rango.
Rango already has a release date set for March 18, 2011 and in it Depp will voice the title character, a household pet that goes on an adventure to discover its true self.
Additional films set up at Verbinski's production house, Blind Wink, include a new adaptation of the Hasbro board game "Clue" and a drama penned by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) based on a Wall Street Journal article about the online fantasy role-playing world and its debilitating impact on the real lives of players. There is no word on whether or not Verbinski is looking to direct either of those features.
It should be pointed out Verbinski was never attached to direct Pirates 4 and I assume this announcement was made simply to clear up any confusion and make sure Disney began a search for a director.
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