Chicago Director May Steer Next "Pirates"

Disney is on the threshold of naming Rob Marshall as the director of the fourth installment in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

If Marshall gets the job, the film's production can begin in 2010 with Johnny Depp again playing the role of the enigmatic Captain Jack Sparrow.

According to Variety.com, "There hasn't been a director at the helm of the pirate ship since April, when Gore Verbinski stepped out to focus on a movie version of the vidgame 'Bioshock' for Universal…Though that film's lost some momentum, Verbinski has moved on to other directing and producing projects."

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has been meeting with several directors because the studio wants to put everything together for the next "Pirates" movie before Depp stars in "The Lone Ranger," which is another one of the studio's and the producer's projects.

The Variety.com article elaborates more on Marshall's possible attachment in the picture, "While Marshall's involvement wasn't immediately confirmed, sources said things look good enough that the studio has begun casting new characters that will appear in the picture."

The "Pirates" trilogy has meant massive bank for Disney grossing $2.6 billion worldwide with Verbinski at the helm. Meanwhile, those in the know are saying that it is almost guaranteed that Marshall will be the captain of the next chapter of "Pirates."

Marshall made his film directing debut with the 2002 Oscar-winning musical "Chicago." He has also just completed "Nine," another musical starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren and Judi Dench.