Dead men tell no tales

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has not come out yet, but Disney is already planning the sequels. That makes sense, because the movies have grossed an assload of booty at $2.68 billion worldwide. Development is starting on Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which will be filmed simultaneously with Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and maybe Pirates of the Caribbean 7: Curse of the Treasure of the Incredible Box Office Tallies! However, the series is losing one of the two writers who has been at the helm of every film since the beginning.

Disney made a deal with Pirates writer Terry Rossio (Shrek), but not his longtime collabo-writer Ted Elliott (also Shrek). We don’t know yet why he decided to voluntarily walk the plank, but our guess is the novelty of watching Johnny Depp do a gay Keith Richards impression wears off after about… oh, I don’t know, a decade. (TheWrap)

Director Gore Verbinski and writer Terry Rossio are turning the crime procedurial on its ass. They’re putting a supernatural twist on the cop/legal drama, setting up “Magical Law” at Fox. The show takes place in “a world where the existence of supernatural beings is commonplace and follows the specialized cops and lawyers who face the unique challenges of prosecuting otherworldly crimes.” Verbinski could possibly direct if Fox decides to produce the pilot.

The title “Magical Law” makes me think more of wizards than ghosts, not that that would be any less ridiculous. Would people really watch a show with such a far out premise? And what could the consequences even be if, let’s say, an expatriate ghost is accused of the high crime of ghost treason? The death penalty? Hellooooo, they’re already dead! I’m sure they’ll come up with a Ghostbusters/Men in Black spirit holding chamber or whatever, but those movies were comedies. I doubt I’ll give two craps if a car thief specter gets off on an ectoplasm technicality. (Deadline)