The long-rumored deal that would bring director Rob Marshall to Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides seems all but a certainty now, as Marshall, currently doing press interviews for his soon-to-be-released film Nine, has confirmed to several sources that Pirates 4 will be his next project. “[The deal is] very close to happening, actually,” Marshall told Josh Horowitz of MTV. “I’m very excited … excited to work with Johnny.”

Marshall, who has directed the Oscar-winning Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha, will take the helm from departing director Gore Verbinski. “I think it’s good when you’re doing a series of films, like Harry Potter,” Marshall said. “It’s nice to bring in a fresh approach.” Asked about the likelihood of Johnny Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow (which Johnny says depends on an acceptable script), Marshall sounded optimistic. “You know what, [he’s in] as far as I know. [. . .] Johnny is a great guy and we’ve been looking to work together for awhile, so it’s going to be nice to be able to do that, hopefully.”

Marshall told Harry Haun of Playbill that he “pounced” on the opportunity to direct Pirates 4 because “I’ve always wanted to do an all-stops-out adventure film like this because I loved them so much as a kid.” But Marshall promises he won’t bring “more plot and characters” to the fourth installment. “The two previous Pirates movies were criticized for being densely complicated,” Haun observed. Marshall’s response? “If I don’t understand it, I can’t direct it.”

Given Marshall’s background in musicals and Johnny’s experience playing Sweeney Todd, MTV wondered “if Depp will get to break into song [. . .] A Jack Sparrow song-and-dance number could be an amazing thing indeed.” Marshall replied, “I’m sure we’ll do something. There’ll be a little something in there . . . from us.” The director added, “The great thing is that I love Johnny. He’s incredible, as an actor and as a person too. So I know it’ll be a great experience.”

The Zone thanks Theresa and FANtasticJD for the news about Rob Marshall; you can read more about Pirates 4 on the Zone’s News and Views forum. To read the MTV interview with Rob Marshall, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet