Depp Hedging on ‘Pirates 4′?

Johnny Depp’s return to the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise appears to be no sure thing.

In recent months, Disney studio chief Dick Cook — whom Depp is said to have a close creative relationship with — left the company. Meanwhile, Chicago director Rob Marshall was named Gore Verbinski’s replacement as helmer of the franchise, the next installment of which will be titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

All of this has caused Depp to admit "a fissure, a crack" in his overall enthusiasm for the project. Apparently, his feelings had not changed as of Tuesday night, when speaking to MTV at the Museum of Modern Art’s Tim Burton retrospective in New York, he mentioned a lack of script or story to pin his hopes on.

"The thing is, I'd love to do it," Depp said. "If there's a script and a story that is outside of what we've done before and it's worthy of the audience's attention, I would definitely do it."

The third 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie seemed to leave off with Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow, setting off in search of the legendary fountain of youth. In theory, that would lead the character to Florida. (And maybe a little Spanish conquistador action?)

Given how much money all parties stand to make from the sequel — from ticket sales to merchandising — it seems highly doubtful that On Stranger Tides won’t eventually get made. More likely, the worst case scenario is the film will be pushed back until the script and director-related issues are resolved to everyone’s liking. And by that, of course, we mean to Depp’s liking.