Rob Marshall Confirmed as 'POTC 4' Director

So it was first rumored a few months ago that Oscar nominated director Rob Marshall ("Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha") might be taking over Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise in place of Gore Verbinski.

Since then we’ve found out the name of the film ("On Stranger Tides") and that it’s based on a book. "PotC4" is to be based on a 22-year-old book also called “On Stranger Tides” by author Tim Powers, using the plot of the search for the Fountain of Youth. It’s a very fitting thing to build a story around for a "Pirates" movie, and with Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley unlikely to be back for the film, it means they can use that plot to concentrate on Captains Jack and Barbossa.

According to a tipster over at AICN who attended a DGA screening of Marshall’s latest, "Nine," Marshall replied to a question about what his next project would be by name-dropping "Pirates of the Caribbean." Here’s what he said:

“‘Y’know, it’s something that I was offered and never in the world thought I would do but then I was like ‘why not?’… I’m doing ‘ Pirates of the Caribbean….”

On top of that, another nice little piece of info that might be of interest to you Captain Jack Sparrow/Depp fans out there is that Marshall said he, “had a wonderful meeting [with Depp] and that they’re both excited to work together.”

While that's hardly an official confirmation from Disney, it does sound like Marshall is on-board as long as Disney gets this into production in 2010 as originally planned.

But Marshall is a director of glorious, gorgeous musicals, not gritty action-adventure movies, so I have no clue how he's going to handle a project this epic.
I’m not going to lie and say he's an excellent choice. I really have no idea. He’s most definitely not the first name I would think of to pick up the reigns after Gore Verbinski left. However, it’s refreshing to see Disney think outside of the box and get a director who you wouldn’t immediately think of. I really hope Marshall can bring something new to the table and drag this franchise out of the confusing and uninspired pit it wallowed in with the second and third movies.

What do you think of Marshall apparently being the one todirect "Pirates of the Caribbean 4"? Would he be your first choice?

"Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides" is supposedly to start shooting next Spring, and has a general release date set of Summer 2011.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, Screen Rant