4th `Pirates' film already on horizon

With the latest in Walt Disney Co.'s lucrative series reaping an unprecedented $401 million globally in its debut through the Memorial Day weekend, the question of whether there will be a fourth installment has effectively been answered.

Sure, producer Jerry Bruckheimer is coy, saying he and his mates need a break. But he already has rights to a book that could end up as another installment.

Star Johnny Depp? He hasn't promised another voyage, but he clearly loves the flamboyant, irreverent Jack Sparrow character, telling one interviewer: "As long as you're doing it for the right reasons, why not?"

In today's Hollywood, blockbuster franchises function almost as independent corporations that, once up and running, can't easily be mothballed. Which is why another "Pirates" is pretty much a given.

"When these franchises become part of the world's culture, they take on a life of their own," said Dick Cook, Disney's studio chairman, who says he's on board for another "Pirates" if the script is right and the filmmakers are willing.

Enter the era of the unlimited sequel. DreamWorks Animation SKG began developing a fourth "Shrek" film more than a year ago -- long before "Shrek the Third" was even finished, said Anne Globe, the Glendale studio's head of marketing. The next installment is slated for 2010.

A fourth installment of "Spider-Man" -- the third one just debuted May 4 -- has been in the works for more than a month, with the studio circling screenwriters it may tap.

"If you want the kind of longevity we're hoping for with 'Spider-Man,' you have to think of them as stand-alone movies, not '1-2-3-4,' " said Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures' studio chairman. "They're sort of like the James Bond stories."

One reason the big franchise machines keep operating is the special effects-laden movies have become ever bigger and more costly -- making and marketing May's three megasequels cost more than $1 billion altogether -- and they require elaborate planning. Studios also need long lead times to line up marketing alliances.

Disney worked with 13 promotional partners to help spread the word on "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," including Volvo, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Circuit City, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Starwood Hotels. Even the obscure, Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration -- which recently made headlines when it reported recovering 17 tons of treasure from a shipwreck in the Atlantic -- signed on.