Next month, Geoffrey Rush will be reprising the role of Sir Francis Walsingham in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the director's follow-up to the 1997 period drama which introduced much of the world to one Cate Blanchett. ComingSoon.net was given a rare opportunity to talk to the celebrated Oscar-winning actor who's no stranger to sequels and franchises, which spurred us to ask Rush for his thoughts on the possibilities of him and Johnny Depp returning for a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Even though some were disappointed with Pirates of Caribbean: At World's End, it has grossed $960 million worldwide, more than any other movie this year, so making a fourth movie must be something on a lot of minds.
"I think people will let it sit for a while. There's a strange attitude about franchise movies. People look at them as that rather than storytelling. Back in the old days, how many Thin Man movies did William Powell end up doing? Probably five or six. How many road movies did Bob and Bing end up doing over 25-year period? There could be a point… because Jack Sparrow is probably now to a certain generation more well known as a representative of the Disney imagination than Mickey Mouse himself and Johnny's performance in that role is such an extraordinary thing… that it may pop up."
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Geoffrey Rush on Possible Pirates 4
Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 ?
I've collected all information I had found about the fourth installment of pirates, so check it out:
June 19, 2006:
Johnny Depp about Jack Spparrow: "He's a blast to play. I'll be in a deep, dark depression saying goodbye to him. ... I'll keep the costume and just prance around the house, entertain the kids." & about possibility of reprising his role as Captain Jack beyond Pirates 3: "Maybe Pirates 4, 5 and 6, If they had a good script, why not? I mean, at a certain point, the madness must stop, but for the moment, I can't say that he's done."
September 19, 2006:
Mark Zoradi (president of the Disney Motion Pictures Group): "The third film... will conclude the initial Pirates trilogy, though it is unlikely to be the last Pirates sequel."
November 10, 2006:
Keira Knightley: "I've been playing this girl since I was 17. I'm 21 now and I'm onto very different things, but it's fun to try to invest Elizabeth [Swann] with some rebellious spirit."
February 2007:
Terry Rossio: It's like the fourth Indiana Jones picture - there are forces in play to make it happen, and forces in play to make it not happen. I think we will try to write a screenplay. I can't say if we'll be able to solve the challenge of making a good fourth film, or if our screenplay will be enough to get a film made.
April 2, 2007:
(Source: IGN)
The third film in the series reportedly ties up loose ends and seemingly brings closure to characters and storylines central to the first three Pirates movies, but the Los Angeles Times cites unidentified sources at Disney who claim that the studio is taking seriously overtures by Johnny Depp expressing that he's keen to stay on with the franchise.
Furthermore, there's fresh speculation that Orlando Bloom may be cut from any future films. We've been here before when rumors of Will Turner's death in Pirates 3 began swirling last October. And while his big-screen demise doesn't seem likely, it could be that his character arc will simply be resolved and that he'll be written out of Pirates 4. If Disney wants to make more movies in the series they may want to cut costs by slashing, arguably, the most expendable member of the lead cast.
May 10, 2007:
Jerry Bruckheimer: "This is the end,this is the end of the trilogy. Whether there will be another movie depends on whether we can create something new and different, but this is the end,but whether one of the characters or a couple of the characters continue on, it's a possibility. ... Certainly, in a moment at the end of the film there is a hope that something else might happen."
According to JimHillMedia.com, "Depp actually has told the folk at Walt Disney Studios that he'd be willing to reprise the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow. Which is why the Mouse has already tentatively made plans to shoot Pirates 4 in 2009. With the hope that this film could then be the studio's tent pole for the summer of 2009."
But if Depp sails again it may be without director Gore Verbinski. JimHillMedia.com claims that author Berkeley Breathed, who is working with Verbinski on adapting his book Flawed Dogs for the screen, said at a recent book signing, "Gore's sick of pirates. If I wrote a scene that had to be shot on water, he'd run the other way."
May 23, 2007:
Johnny Depp : “Doing the Pirates movies has been an absolute blast, I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have had such a great experience. If I walk away from Jack now, I’ll walk away with some amazing memories. But At World’s End leaves open the possibility of a fourth or fifth movie, which I wouldn’t be opposed to on an actor level because I feel there is a lot more territory to explore with Captain Jack. I’ve never really felt I’m done with playing the character, so why shouldn’t we try a fourth and a fifth?"
June 20, 2007:
(source- Cinema Blends)
Some franchises just don’t know when to quit. Whether or not people are getting sick and tired of the whole Pirates of the Caribbean thing, when a franchise makes that much money, it’s hard to let it die. We’ve been hearing rumblings about a possible fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie for months now, but tonight I got an email from the old friend of the site which not only confirmed a fourth movie will almost certainly be happening, but dropped details on where the series may end up going when it continues.
Our source says that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is no longer just a possibility, it’s almost a certainty. More importantly, Johnny Depp is all but assured to return, though our scooper claims he may end up making as much as $35 - $40 million to do it. Also returning will be Geoffrey Rush and Gore Verbinski as director, but forget about the rest of the cast because from now on the movies will only be about Captain Jack.
That’s right, Pirates 4 will cast aside Will and Elizabeth to make it an all Jack Sparrow movie. That won’t be the only change Disney is planning to make when the series continues though. Our scooper says, “the ending of Pirates 3, the fountain of youth story might not be the only story they might used the next pirate’s film. The fountain story could used in another form to introduce the story for Pirates 4… the next film might be a departure from the same formula of the last three movies as well, meaning that Jerry Bruckheimer could be planning to enter the realm of Science Fiction this time around and it could be the heart of a new trilogy with Jack Sparrow and his crew of misfits. Some of the brainstorming going around involves some Jules Verne type of scenarios involving some pretty big flying machines, a man who wants to rule more than just the ocean, a encounter with the most famous and dangerous pirate of all, a race to get to a lost world (Hint, Hint) and Jack and his crew going to where no pirate has gone before (No, its not space but Disney had made animated movie about this place before with Michel J Fox voicing one of the characters).”
Pirates science fiction? What the heck? The Michael J. Fox movie our source is referring to is almost certainly Atlantis, which would tie in the Jules Verne and science fiction elements mentioned. Apparently we’ll also get more of Jack’s past and his family, which could also mean more Keith Richards. I’d actually be ok with that, Keith was surprisingly good.
Don’t get too attached to the idea of another Pirates of the Caribbean sequel though. Our insider thinks that Disney plans to take a long, long breather between Pirates movies: “word is that the start date could be around 2009 to 2011.” I don’t think we need another Pirates sequel, but if they’re going to do one, giving the franchise time to recharge is probably a very good idea.
As always, consider everything above as nothing but rumor till something more develops. Our source is a proven one, but if we can’t give you our source, then consider anything we tell you as unconfirmed gossip.
