Disney Readying Pirates of the Caribbean 5 & 6

The two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels grossed around $2 billion total, and Johnny Depp let it be known he'd continue playing the Captain Jack Sparrow character as long as he could. Hence the fourth installment, the Rob Marshall-directed On Stranger Tides, is headed to screens May 2011.

Always one to think ahead (as any business-savvy studio should), Disney is spreading the word to various crew and cast members they intend to move forward on, that's right, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 and 6, reports HitFix. Repeating their actions on the two aforementioned Gore Verbinski-directed follow-ups and film them back-to-back.

It's only a matter of when they can fit it into Depp's booked schedule. He's set to headline Dark Shadows with director/BFF Tim Burton and The Lone Ranger, for the Mouse and Verbinski, next year. That also leaves a question unanswered towards who'll pen these two additional sequels and who will call "Action!" behind camera.

As confident as the Mouse might be, they still have to wait and see the world’s reaction to Pirates 4. Worldwide, it'll be carried easily, but stateside they could be in for a rude awakening. The masses weren't crazy about At World's End and if this looks like more of the same in the trailers, people will be less enticed to see Sparrow for a fourth (!) time immediately.