Some franchises peter out once they’ve stretched to a trilogy. Then there are the powerhouses, the ones that ride the choppy waves of critical reaction and still connect with audiences, earning gazillions along the way. Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean series apparently falls into the latter category, and the studio, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, has been busy setting up the fifth instalment. Catch Me If You Can writer Jeff Nathanson is the man hired to craft the latest script draft.

Pirates veteran Terry Rossio – largely responsible for the first four movies alongside writing partner Ted Elliott – was hired in January 2011 to begin working up the next script, details about which are being kept secret for now.

Things moved further ahead when it was reported in July of that year that Johnny Depp,  who has always indicated he’d be willing to slap on Captain Jack Sparrow’s mascara for a new outing assuming he liked the script, had entered talks to return. Though he’s yet to officially sign on (Disney is likely keeping its bones crossed that whatever Nathanson produces will convince Depp to spill ink on a contract), you can bet all involved want the doubloons to keep pouring into the treasure chests.

Nathanson has experience on big franchise outings, having worked on the Speed sequel Cruise Control (probably best forgotten), Rush Hour 2 (er…) and the story for Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (let’s move on, shall we?). He’s also busy writing The 39 Clues for DreamWorks.