Ahoy, mateys! Fans pillaging and plundering for information on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides are in luck- a detailed description of the film's opening scene has made its way online.

We've know for quite some time that the fourth entry in Disney's park ride turned film franchise would involve everyone's favorite scallywag Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) racing against his old foe Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to track down the legendary Fountain of Youth.

Aside from the competing Captains and some of the Black Pearl's crew, Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is attempting to reinvigorate the series by ditching other familiar faces in favor of brand new characters like the sinister Black Beard (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz).

With Rob Marshall (Chicago) inheriting the director's chair vacated by Gore Verbinski, word has it that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 will be more streamlined, and focused, than the previous two installments. For those of you not content with set pics or press releases, here's a blow-by-blow of the film's opening moments courtesy of the folks at What's Playing:

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

Film opens at night. Spanish fisherman spots something in the water. A Shape. He fishes out what he soon discovers is the body of an ancient sailor. The boat’s captain rushes over for a look - - before he can make his assessment, the thought-dead sailor’s eyes open. Sailor grabs Captain’s arm… fade out. The Captain and his aide then arrive at the regal residents of King Ferdinand, with said body, who inform the royal that the not-so-dead sailor claims to have sailed on a vessel belonging to the ship of Ponce de Leon, who died 200 years ago. Ferdinand’s first thought is that the sailor has found the legendary Fountain of Youth. He orders ‘The Spaniard’ to hit the seas in search of it.

I have to be honest- despite how much I loathed the second and third movies, I'm really rooting for Pirates of the Caribbean 4. I still adore the original film and have always felt the franchise would be better served by stand alone stories rather than an intertwining mythology.

I remain hopeful that the filmmakers have indeed listened to the criticisms leveled against the previous sequels and have taken steps to ensure the same mistakes don't happen again. The first Pirates of the Caribbean was a solid film brimming with franchise potential and all of that goodwill was squandered by the all-too-frequent misconception that bigger = better.

Most of all, I just really love the Jack Sparrow character. By the end of the last film I felt like he may have started to wear out his welcome - but I think that was simply a case of overexposure and the sequels being released only a year apart. Whenever I revisit the original film Sparrow still has me smiling ear to ear. Even when he's trapped in murky storylines and forced to regurgitate exposition, he's still ridiculously fun to watch.

We'll get our first look at the film in December since the teaser trailer is reportedly attached to Tron Legacy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theaters on May 20th, 2011.

Source: What's Playing.