Chris Weitz Named as Possible Contender to Direct ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5′

The majority of critics seem to agree that from a creative standpoint, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has turned into a sinking ship. Nevertheless, the series remains an unrivaled cash cow for Walt Disney Pictures and they’re understandably anxious to see it carry on. In fact, they had a script fora fifth film in their hands before On Stranger Tides was even released.

The domestic box office gross for the latest entry might be lower than that of its predecessors, but the studio has little reason to worry that audiences are starting to grow impervious to the charms of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). To date, On Stranger Tides has amassed more than $472 million outside of the U.S. and is on track to earn close to $1 billion before it hits DVD and Blu-Ray. The foreign market has become increasingly important to Hollywood and with numbers like that, another voyage aboard the Black Pearl seems all but inevitable.

It sounds like the job is still Marshall’s if he decides he wants it, but Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Shawn Levy, Chris Weitz, and Alfonso Cuarón are now in the mix as well. CB‘s “most reliable source” has indicated that Burton is currently the top pick (and was also sought for On Stranger Tides before Marshall landed the gig, apparently) – but they theorize that even though he has a longstanding working relationship with Depp, it’s extremely unlikely that he’d actually commit to the project.

So let’s take a look at the other contenders…

Weitz, who started out his career co-directing hits like American Pie and About a Boy before moving on to big-budget fare like the ambitious misfire The Golden Compass and the second Twilight film, New Moon. He’s probably one of the most realistic options, but again – would he be capable of reinvigorating the Pirates series?

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