Gore Verbinski, director of all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, is ending his streak and not participating in the fourth installment. Instead, Verbinski will be focusing his efforts on the upcoming Bioshock video game adaptation.

Verbinski recently let Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer know that he will not be back to direct Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

That’s good news for everyone! Verbinski now has a chance to work on something different - another film that could spawn its own franchise - and the fans of the series get a new helmer to take the next Pirates film in a different direction (which is what it desperately needs).

In speaking with Variety, Verbinski said:

"I had a fantastic time bringing 'Pirates' to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team… I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future."

Under his control, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise raked in over $2.6 billion worldwide. The next film is currently in development and starring Johnny Depp again as Captain Jack Sparrow. However, it has yet to be officially green lit.

I wonder if they’ll bring in a big name director for the next flick or if they’ll pass the torch to a relative newcomer.

Big Daddy in big budget BioShock movie

A Big Daddy protecting a Little Sister in Bioshock

As for Bioshock, there’s been no major updates on this project for quite some time. It was initially expected to release in 2010 but with no cast or official schedule announced, I expect that it will get pushed back at least a year.

What are you thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and the Bioshock movies?

Source: Variety