Latest rumor–Penelope Cruz to join Johnny Depp in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES?

Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz is in talks to join Johnny Depp in the next installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, according to Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter. On Stranger Tides is scheduled to film in Hawaii this summer under the direction of Rob Marshall, who directed Ms. Cruz in Nine, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination last week. Ms. Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2009 for her role in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

No details are available regarding what Ms. Cruz’s role in On Stranger Tides might be, since the script is a closely guarded secret . . . although producer Jerry Bruckheimer has mentioned that it will involve the Fountain of Youth, as hinted in the conclusion of At World’s End. Borys Kit reports that Cruz’s character “is to be [Captain Jack] Sparrow’s foil and equal in many ways.” Sounds promising! Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz previously worked together in Blow (2001), directed by the late Ted Demme.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides is scheduled for release on May 20, 2011.

The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news and FANtasticJD for additional reporting. You can read more about On Stranger Tides on the Zone’s “Updates on Pirates 4″ thread on our News & Views forum. You can read The Hollywood Reporter story HERE.