Was the “Pirates 4,” aka “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” coming summer 2011 a premature announcement or have things changed since then? “I understand that there was an announcement that there was going to be a fourth, and now I’ve been told since that that was not a reliable announcement,” Bill Nighy who plays the evil Squid Guy (or whatever his toy tie-in name is) told Sci-Fi wire. Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) was in talks to take over for Gore “extra nacho cheese” Verbinski (who dropped out a while ago), but that was so long ago, it’s probably safe to assume that part of the problem is that a director hasn’t been found yet (not to mention Johnny Depp’s recent reticence after a Disney honcho he was loyal to got the ax).
Nighy says he thinks there eventually will be a fourth film given the trilogy’s massive success, but also said producer Jerry Bruckheimer wasn’t in a huge rush either. For the record, we like Bill Nighy, but when he plays villains, he’s generally a sour-faced one-note baddie and it’s kind of tiresome.
Hot screenwriter du jour Laeta Kalogridis (“Shutter Island”) has been tapped to adapt a live-action version of the popular, Japanese manga futuristic police thriller, “Ghost In The Shell,” for Dreamworks. The “Shutter Island,” twist is still a silly dealbreak for us, frankly, but Kalogridis’ script was a taut page-turner up until that point (and she’s just sticking to what Lehane wrote), so she’s probably the right person for the job.
Actor Dylan Baker has apparently confirmed his appearance in the next” Spider-Man 4″ movie as Dr. Curt Connors, but it’s unclear if Connors will finally morph into the villain The Lizard as most fans are hoping he will.
In an appearance on Baltimore WJX (via Cinematical) Gerard Butler (who many have noted lately needs a new agent) revealed his next project will be a “passion” one: Ralph Fiennes’ take on William Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” co-starring William Hurt, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jessica Chastain. Fiennes will be performing double duty, playing the lead as well as directing.