Penelope the Pirate!

Ahhh the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I loved the first movie, liked the second and hated the third, by the time we got to "At Worlds End" the whole thing had become bloated and was no longer an action/adventure movie but a merely a showcase to see how far Johnny Depp could push the silliness of Jack Sparrow.

However it made pot loads of bullion so there is going to be a 4th movie though this time without Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, thus the announcement today via Heat Vision that Spanish beauty and top actress Penelope Cruz will be swashing her buckle in the 4th installment, taking up the female lead mantle from Knightley's Miss Elizabeth Swann.

Penelope Cruz is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp and sail the seven seas in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth installment of the movie series being directed by Rob Marshall.

Depp is reprising his popular role of Captain Jack Sparrow, and while plot details are buried deeper than Blackbeard's treasure, it is known the tale revolves around the Fountain of Youth.

Cruz's character details are also being kept secret, though she is to be Sparrow's foil and equal in many ways.

Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot wrote the script. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.

For Cruz, the role reunites her with Marshall, who directed her in "Nine." Her performance garnered her an Oscar nomination in the best supporting actress category just last week. She won the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for 2008's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

"Pirates" will set sail before cameras in Hawaii this summer. Disney plans for a May 20, 2011, release.

I like the idea of Cruz being Depp's equal, it suggests she will be playing a sexy female pirate captain which is a good move in my opinion, if Sparrow is dialed back a bit and the running time kept from bloating, this may just entice me yet.