We’ve known for months now that Nine director Rob Marshall is the top contender to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He however, still seems uncertain. Though a few months ago Disney went so far as to announce the movie’s title and release an official title treatment, Marshall recently told Coming Soon, “we're still trying to figure out if it's going to all happen.”

Even though word of his involvement first leaked out in July, and even though you’d think Disney would be in kind of a rush to get this thing done so they can roll around in the resulting money, Marshall still has no idea when or if they’ll be doing it. He explains, “If it happens--I think Johnny's doing a movie with Angelina Jolie in the spring (that's The Tourist)--so if it happens, we'll start in the summer, and we'll see. I'm excited. If it happens, it happens. I'd be thrilled. I just love Johnny and I'm excited about the genre.” That’s three “ifs” folks. That may not be a good sign.

It’s not just Johnny’s schedule that’s his problem (or perhaps his utter disinterest in doing it) that’s holding things up. It would seem they still don’t even know what it’s about. Says Marshall, “I would need a script first.”