Johnny Depp has signed on to star in a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, delivering the news directly to Disney fans at the studio’s first ever D23 fan event in Anaheim, Calif.
The next Pirates film, subtitled On Stranger Tides, is on track to be released in summer 2011, according to news and trade reports.
Depp wasn’t the only celebrity to appear on-stage at the event, a fan-oriented celebration similar to Comic-Con and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Celebrations.
Also appearing was director Robert Zemeckis, who confirmed he and Disney will remake 1968’s classic animated Beatles film Yellow Submarine. Zemeckis said he will write and direct the movie, which will be made with motion-capture and shown in 3-D. He also showed some sequences from his upcoming 3-D animated take on A Christmas Carol, in which actor Jim Carrey played some seven or eight parts ‘ all via performance capture.
Director Tim Burton also was on hand, showing clips from his upcoming live-action 3-D remake of Alice in Wonderland. He also said he is working on a feature-length version of his 1984 animated short film Frankenweenie for Disney.
Studio chairman Dick Cook also appeared on stage with actors Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and singer-actress Miley Cyrus.
Cook also teased fans by announcing a new Muppets movie was in the works.
