When Captain Jack Sparrow heads for the high seas this time, he’ll have a romantic interest to spar with. Academy Award winning actress Penelope Cruz will join Johnny Depp in On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean series. The film will be their second teamup after playing husband and wife in the 2000 film, Blow.

The movie is expected to be released in May 2011. It is believed that the story would be about Jack Sparrow leaving on a quest to find the fountain of youth.

The Vicky Cristina Barcelona star will play the daughter of British actor Ian McShane’s Blackbeard character. “She brings a lot of humor to it. And the fact that she’s so feisty,” said producer Jerry Bruckheimer, adding that there will be “a little romance between [Depp's] Captain Jack and the character that Penelope plays.” He also said that if Johnny Depp stays interested in the character of Jack Sparrow, there might be more sequels.

Apart from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, 35-year-old Penelope Cruz is set to start working on Sex and the City 2.

Video: Johnny Depp announces Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, pirate style!

She will also be reunited with Rob Marshall who directed her in last year’s Oscar-nominated musical Nine. Marshall is taking over as director from Gore Verbinski, who directed the first three Pirates movies. Geoffrey Rush is also expected to return to the series as Captain Barbossa.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, scripted by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, will be part prequel, featuring flashbacks to Jack’s early life.

Photo: Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

A report says that the new Pirates movie may be based on a novel called On Stranger Tides about pirates by Tim Powers. The book revolves around the main character, also named Jack, and his finding the Fountain of Youth – a recurring theme in the movie series.

Keira Knightley has confirmed that she will not reprise her role as Elizabeth Swann in the last three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. “I said when I finished the trilogy that that was going to be it – I had a wonderful time on it and I met some extraordinary people, but you know, I think, for me three is enough, definitely,” the Oscar-nominated actress said at the Laurence Olivier awards in London.

Insisting that she’ll still continue to make films, Keira said she had three films on hand: London Boulevard, Never Let Me Go and Last Night.

Photo: Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Johnny Depp maintained that the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides wouldn’t be a one-man show. “There’s no Keira or Orlando in there,” he said at a press conference in Hollywood, Calif. “[But] I don’t know. I don’t think we’d ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be a little bit of everybody.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is expected to start filming in June for a Summer 2011 release. Producers have chosen the seaside town of St Ives, Cornwall, as the setting for the latest in the yo-ho-ho series.

The third Pirates movie made over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, making it the fourth highest-grossing film in history, according to boxofficemojo.com. But though Johnny Depp’s starring performance was well received, the two sequels were panned.

Most casting decisions may already have been taken, but producers of On Stranger Tides are looking for a host of “beautiful” women to join the cast.

A casting call notice asks for “beautiful female fit models” aged between 18 and 25 for a “show and tell with the director (Rob Marshall) and the producers”, as well as “professional dancers who are swimmers”.

Marshall has told casting agents in Los Angeles to put out a search for actresses with natural curves only, London’s Daily Mail reports.

In the past, Knightley revealed that crew had a hard time giving her that curvy “18th century whoreish” look. She says they painted in her cleavage and pulled her bodice tight to shrink her waist and maximize her breasts.

Once shooting starts, we expect a regular stream of photos and video clips from the sets of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to be released by the studio. We will reproduce them as quickly as we can for all the Pirates fans!

Photo: Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean

Topping the list of the World’s 50 sexiest male movie stars is, unsurprisingly, Johnny Depp, followed by Robert Pattinson at No 2.

Photo: Robert Pattinson

Frankly, I cannot for the life of me understand the so-called sex appeal of this dopey-eyed boy but then I belong to a different generation, the one that wants to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and throw him in a bath or check him into rehab.

Number three, four and five on the list are Robert Downey Jr., Brad Pitt and Christian Bale.

Sixth on the list is Hugh Jackman, followed by George Clooney, Alan Rickman, James McAvoy, and Gerard Butler.

Photo: Gerard Butler

Of these I would definitely nudge George Clooney and Gerard Butler to number 5 or so.

As for the sexiest female movie stars, the numero uno sexiest star is again, unsuprisingly, Megan Fox.

Photo: Megan Fox

Number two in Angelina Jolie and three is Emma Watson (huh?)

The number four to ten top 50 sexiest female movie stars ever are:

Photo: Scarlett Johansson

4. Scarlett Johansson (I would put her at 2 or 3, as would most XY chromosomes)

5. Zoe Saldana
6. Natalie Portman
7. Kristen Stewart
8. Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
9. Helena Bonham Carter

Photo: Johny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean

hollywood-elsewhere.com has reported that the basic storyline of the fourth movie of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is in place.

In Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, and gang are on the trail for the fountain of youth.

The villain of the piece will be a Captain Nemo type character using advanced technology.

The Pirates of the Caribbean 4 will be made in the “steampunk” style, which should be very interesting.

There are also rumors that producer Jerry Bruckheimer will rope in a new director, and it is very likely to be Rob Marshall (Chicago).

In April 2009, the studio had announced that Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movie would not be at the helm of the fourth movie in the franchise.

The first three movies in the franchise were Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s end.

There are also unconfirmed rumors that Keira Knightley will not be part of the Pirates of the Carribean 4.

The movie will be short in the first half of 2010 and will be released sometime in 2010.

Disney had also said that the Pirates of the Caribbean 4 will be part of a new trilogy. Disney Head of Production, Oren Aviv, had said that the first three movies had grown complicated and they want to scale in to down.

The news should make a lot of fans happy given the lukewarm response to the last Pirates movie.

Meanwhile, Johnny Depp is shooting for the much-awaited Alice in Wonderland that is being directed by Tim Burton. The movie should be out in March 2010.

Johnny Depp will also be seen in Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Lone Ranger, where he will play Tonto.