*POTC 2 casting updates*
From OrlandoMultimedia: Mo informed us of some of the new casting roles for POTC 2. Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando are all set to reprise their roles in POTC 2. The new roles are Davey Jones, a second lead, villain (30-40 years old); Commodor, third supporting lead, good guy turned bad guy (50-60), Will's Father, first supporting lead (45-55); Peg Leg Pete, second supporting lead, a pirate (20-30).*POTC to Start Filming This Fall?*
From canoe.ca: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer hopes to begin filming the sequel to his runaway hit Pirates of the Caribbean this fall. "Johnny (Depp), Orlando (Bloom) and Keira (Knightley) are all committed to the sequel emotionally but not financially. That's something we have to start working out," says Bruckheimer. "All three are busy, expensive stars now. Johnny's a $20-million man." Depp has said he wants Keith Richards to play Depp's father in the sequel. "Johnny loves the idea of having Keith in the movie because he used Keith as an inspiration for his performance, but the part isn't in the script yet. If Johnny insists and Keith agrees, I think it's safe to say it will be written in."*Bloom, Depp not signed up for 'Pirates' sequels*
From digitalspy.co.uk: The main stars from Pirates of the Carribean have yet to sign up for the movie's two sequels. Both Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp are keen to reprise their roles but have yet to sign on the dotted line because negotiations over their pay are still ongoing. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told MRIB: "We're currently negotiating with the actors to all come back. They all want to come back - it just all comes down to making deals with their agents. They all want raises, which they deserve, it's just how much of a raise." He added that he was confident that the sequels would be a success with the same director and writing team back on board. "We've got the same writers that wrote 'Pirates' and they're going to come back and write two and three. They've outlined two and three, they're writing two and we have a deal with Gore Verbinski, who directed the first one, to do two and three."*POTC 2 and 3 Schedule*
Posted by Terry (POTC screenwriter) at wordplayer.com:Ideally, it would go like this: approval of the stories that have been designed over the past four months would come sometime this week, along with the conclusion of extensive and complex negotiations will the principal filmmakers -- for two movies, to be shot back to back, a huge commitment of time, money, and resources. The screenplay(s) would then be written over the next 8-10 weeks (hah!) which takes us into July. Based on the screenplays (which will continue to be revised) the preproduction on these two movies would take place, which includes location scouting, set design, building ships, negotiations with different countries, casting, special effects tests, and a million other things. If all goes well, principle photography would begin sometime early next year, and proceed for nine months (seems like a long time but we're talking two movies here, which is only 4 and a 1/2 months per movie) We're talking shooting on the water, action, costumes, and shooting for effects, all commonly time consuming stuff. So that takes us past next summer to late next year. Then comes the post production work -- editing and scoring and effects, etc. Which allowes the 1st sequel to be prepped and ready for release in Summer of 2006.
*Back to Back Pirate Sequels*
From comingsoon.net: Two cool news bits have come in this weekend about the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. First up, Dark Horizons received a report from the NATO (North American Theatre Owners) annual meeting where Disney talked about the franchise. He went on to talk about the sequel(s) to Pirates and said the entire cast and production team would be back. He said production would begin shortly on Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 and they would be released six months apart in 2006. This was news to me as I had only heard their was going to be one sequel. This confirms earlier speculation by the Hollywood trades that Disney was going to shoot two sequels at once, much like the second and third "Matrix" films. ComingSoon.net has also confirmed with a very reliable source that Johnny Depp's wish has come true. Rolling Stones' Keith Richards will indeed play Captain Jack Sparrow's dad in the sequel. As you probably know by now, Depp modeled Sparrow in the first film after the musician.
All the above is from the ObFiles