The last thing we heard on Pirates of the Caribbean 4 was that director of the trilogy, Gore Verbinski, had decided to direct Bioshock instead of returning for a fourth outing (which was understandable). Now producer Jerry Bruckheimer has spoken to Coming Soon and revealed that writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot are working on the script “as we speak”.

Bruckheimer told us that for Disney, the priority is most definitely “Pirates.” “It’s a great franchise for them and for us, too,” he said. “A beloved character and Johnny’s really excited about coming back to Captain Jack. He certainly is interested in Tonto, but Disney’s priority is to get ‘Pirates’ made first. You never know what’s going to happen, but they would like it.”

Bruckheimer shared that the original writers, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, were “writing ‘Pirates’ as we speak,” and he said it was “funny” and a “whole new way of going” although he wouldn’t share more than that.

Since Gore Verbinski recently announced that he may not direct a movie based on the video game BioShock, we asked Bruckheimer if there was a chance he might return for a fourth movie. “You never know,” he admitted. “He created the franchise so we’d love to have him back, but it’s kind of up to him.”

The Pirates trilogy has made Disney billions so it makes sense to move forward with the next one as they are guaranteed a huge return. Gore Verbinski recently cast doubt as to whether he will actually end up directing Bioshock, which I suppose increases his chances of returning if he isn’t tired of the franchise.

• Gore Verbinski will not be directing Pirates of the Caribbean 4
• Johnny Depp In Alice, The Lone Ranger and Pirates of the Caribbean 4
• Rob Marshall confirms he’s directing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Johnny Depp says his passion for Pirates 4 has been severely dampened
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Disney held a presentation at the Kodak Theatre earlier today in Hollywood and they revealed new information about their future projects, many of which involve Johnny Depp.

The first bit of news is that Depp will be playing The Madd Hatter in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. There have been rumors that he would play the part in recent weeks and now it is official. Perfect casting right there.

The second bit of Depp news is that he has been cast in the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer produced adaptation of The Lone Ranger, which follows a masked Texas Ranger in the Old West who rights injustices with the aid of his native American assistant, Tonto, who Depp will be playing. The script is currently being written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, who wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

This leads me nicely onto the news that Depp will be back as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. My guess is that the story will involve the Fountain of Youth which was hinted at towards the end of At World’s End. I just hope they get Geoffrey Rush back as Barbossa, as his character was a personal favourite and to see him on the big screen again would be a treat.

Other Disney News:

Oprah will be voicing a character in The Princess and The Frog and Jim Carrey is set to play seven characters in a computer-animated version of A Christmas Carol.

• Johnny Depp talks Mad Hatter and Pirates 4
• Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is currently being written!
• Rob Marshall confirms he’s directing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Third Alice in Wonderland poster features the Mad Hatter
• New Alice in Wonderland trailer shows us some new stuff