I saw the story that Johnny Depp had signed for another Pirates of the Caribbean film yesterday, but I didn't think it was that important. Since everyone's talking about it though I thought I would join in the bandwagon.

FreezeDriedMovies through Moviehole are saying that he has already signed, however this doesn't mean anything. As I always feel like I'm saying, stars don't sign on for one film at a time, especially in an active franchise. Their contracts will often include some placeholders to ensure they are available and the studio has an option on them should the film come about.

Now Johnny Depp's contract probably lasted until the third film, but it could have had a clause holding him onto any spin off's or perhaps when he officially signed for a third there was another clause in there for holding him to a fourth.

Who knows, but I think it's a pretty moot point really. This film will gain buckets for the studio, and any film that does that means sequel/prequel, and so we'll see it happen with or without him. Geoffrey Rush has already said that that he would be willing for a Barbosa spin off. I think the difference may be that the creative team have had enough, so would the stars still want to appear without the team behind it?