Although Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides didn’t fare quite as well as hoped at the U.S. box office, the movie has performed extraordinarily well overseas; in fact, it passed the global $1 billion mark over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. So it comes as no surprise to learn that Disney wants to do more Pirates movies and, in fact, has planned to do so all along, for the studio already set up the end of On Stranger Tides with a teaser (involving Penelope Cruz and a doll, but to say more would be a spoiler) that would naturally lead into the fifth movie.

Now, the Wrap reports that the indispensible Johnny Depp is almost ready to sign on and head towards the dentist to install more pirate teeth for the next installment:

Johnny Depp is close to signing a deal to star in a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, an individual close to the negotiations told TheWrap.

In May, producer Jerry Bruckheimer said he was working on a fifth Pirates script — and that he wouldn’t make the movie without Depp.

“Hopefully, if this one does well, (Depp) will want to come back and play the character again,” Bruckheimer told the L.A. Times. “But it’s going to depend on the screenplay. It always does. He’s maniacal about not wanting to disappoint his audience.”

“This one” is the fourth installment in the franchise, On Stranger Tides. And it did do well: This past weekend, it surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.

Apparently, Depp likes what he sees. He’s negotiating for the movie.

Update: Another individual close to the franchise said that a rough draft for the script was in, and that producer Bruckheimer and others were meeting intensively – three and four times a week – on improving it. A deal will depend on whether Depp likes the script, but this individual said the broad strokes were in place for a deal with the lead actor.

Depp’s agent Tracey Jacobs declined to comment. A Disney spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Depp stars as the kohl-eyed, swashbuckling pirate, Capt. Jack Sparrow, in Disney’s wildly successful franchise. The first four installments have grossed a total of $3.7 billion.

Depp is key to the franchise’s success: Without Capt. Jack there’s no Pirates.

[From The Wrap]

So why exactly, other than for the sheer love of it, would Depp choose to reprise the Jack Sparrow character yet again? Well, the money is certainly worth it — Pajiba reports that Depp has already pocketed $350 million for the first four movies in the franchise. Pajiba also points out that Depp has deserved this sort of money all along for his better movies, so it’s pretty much okay that he gets it for these throwaway popcorn flicks, even if they’re not much more than Depp “putting on some Guyliner, delivering a bad English accent, and prancing around like a charming buffoon.” Part of me wants to think that Depp is also just “one of us” and is doing a good thing by keeping the thousands of people involved with the Pirates franchise in steady jobs, but I’m probably reading far too much into it. Still, more Pirates equals more Geoffrey Rush too, and who could possibly complain about that?

Movie stills courtesy of AllMoviePhoto