Report: Johnny Depp ‘Close’ To Signing Up For Fifth Installment Of ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’

Johnny Depp clearly has a case of “Pirates” fever.

The actor is close to signing up for a fifth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, a source told The Wrap.

Meetings with producer Jerry Bruckheimer are already taking place and a rough draft, which has been turned in, is being worked on, another source told the website.

While Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both opted not to return for the fourth installment, which instead featured Penelope Cruz and rising star Sam Claflin, the movie took in a big booty at the box office.

According to Box Office Mojo, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” has brought in a plunder of $234 million domestically and over $774 million worldwide for a whopping total of more than $1 billion.

Bruckheimer previously told the Associated Press a fifth film was in the works, which would carry on the story of Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow — if the actor was willing to jump back on board.

“The audience told us what they loved about it is that it was fresh, it was new, it was a whole new story,” Bruckheimer previously said of test screening audiences for the fourth film. “So that will carry over into the next one, too, to give it something fresh and different. As long as the audience embraces this one, we’ll certainly try to make another one. It’s really up to Johnny. He loves the character.”

According to The Wrap, an agent for Depp declined commenting on the report, while a rep for Disney, the studio behind the film, did not respond to a request for comment.

Depp will next be seen in “The Rum Diary,” where he plays a journalist working for a newspaper in the Caribbean.

Aaron Eckhart also stars in the film, which is due out on October 28, 2011.