Fourth Time's the Charm?

I wasn't sure whether or not to believe it when I ran across the rumor that they might make a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Now, I wouldn't complain overly much, so long is it was up to the standards of the first three, but...well... most of the loose ends were tied up at the end of 3, and the after-credits scene indicates that Will remains bound to the Dutchman for the 10 years immediately after 3. I suppose they could play with Jack going after the Fountain of Youth, and Will can contribute so long as he doesn't set foot on land... (and continues to do the duty of the Dutchman's Captain). I don't know.

Anyway, it's at least official enough to merit an announcement on imdb. Note that it is labeled as "announced", not even "pre-production", which probably means that they're floating ideas around, seeing who they might be able to get back, and probably seeing who's willing to fund it. Since this will likely change, here's a screen-capture from today:


Most of the links on that page either take you back to the same info, or require access to IMDB-Pro. So... assuming it makes it past "announced", I can't resist speculating on what plot points they'll focus on. Presumably, they'll try to make it feel like it was always intended to be four movies, so they'll want to continue on from existing loose ends.

(1) Jack going after the Fountain of Youth - happens at the very end, needs to either be continued or have an explanation as to why it didn't work out.
(2) Barbosa going after Jack to get his map back.
(3) Will, maybe, looking for a loophole in his Dutchman duties (he's so honor-bound, though, that this one seems a stretch to me)
(4) Elizabeth looking for a loophole in Will's duties (seems more likely than Will himself)
(5) Calypso/Tia Dalma... For her to be a major player, there would have to be something she wanted that her powers as the Sea would not get for her; otherwise, I'd expect a semi-random cameo from her if the actress were available.

I'll have to rewatch to movies to see if there are any random references that might provide future movie fodder, too. Still, the most obvious loose end is the whole doomed romance bit, and unless they set 4 at least 10 years after 3, I don't think that any fix can succeed without betraying the audience.