Catch Me If You Can writer to pen Pirates of the Caribbean 5

'Catch Me If You Can' writer Jeff Nathanson is to write the fifth film in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise.

Nathanson was also responsible for penning the likes of 'Speed 2: Cruise Control', 'Rush Hour 2' and 'Rush Hour 3', 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' and 'Men In Black 3'.

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Reports that Depp had signed up for his fifth stint at Captain Jack Sparrow emerged last summer, but so far nothing has been officially confirmed.

There is also no director confirmed yet, though it is rumoured that Rob Marshall may return as the helmsman, after the financial success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'.

Meanwhile, it's thought former cast members of the previous films will be courted for roles, including Geoffrey Rush and Keira Knightley, while Orlando Bloom has already said he'd be up for another sea-faring jaunt should he be asked again.

The last film, which saw Sparrow in search of the fountain of youth, made over $1 billion dollars (￡646.7 million) at the box office, making it the 10th highest grossing film of all time.