Between Captain Jack, Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth, Davy Jones, Calypso, Norrington and a veritable rogues gallery of pirates, buccaneers and scoundrels, trying to follow every plot thread in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" left my head spinning like a giant maelstrom.

Turns out "Pirates" helmer Gore Verbinski agrees. Holding court as the keynote speaker at the video game-centric DICE Summit in Las Vegas, the director told the audience that his biggest problem with "At World's End" was that it had just too many darn characters.

It's a problem they'll almost certainly remedy next time around. Reports from websites like Jim Hill Media indicate that the next "Pirates" adventure will center almost exclusively on Jack and Barbossa, presumably as they search for the fabled Fountain of Youth. Read more...

Considering that the franchise comprises two of the top five highest-grossing movies of all-time, series co-star Geoffrey Rush thinks making another "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie would be a "a pre-ordained license to print money," he joked.

Luckily enough for producers, then, the Oscar winner says he's even got a story.

"[Finding the Fountain of Youth] would be a fun thing to do," Rush declared, referencing the coda to "At World's End," where Jack Sparrow is seen with a map to the fabled spring. "[I could] drink the elixir and suddenly turn into Orlando Bloom. It'll be a comedy!" Read more...

Now that we've seen those Pirates of the Caribbean reach the "World's End," the cat is out of the bag over which characters get a clean wrap-up, and which are poised to set sail for further adventures. With that in mind, here's a quick summation of where the "Pirates" stars stand on further sequels.

"I'm waiting for 'Pirates 4’ and '5’ if they greenlight it," Martin Klebba told us last week, revealing behind-the-scenes discussions of a pair of "Pirates" sequels. "I can't see them not doing it, if you have Johnny, Gore [Verbinski], [and writers] Ted [Elliott] and Terry [Rossio]," he added. "If they did any, I could see them doing more Jack Sparrow."

As for Johnny Depp, he is wide open to returning. "You're just trying to avoid what is inevitable, which is saying goodbye to this person you've known for umpteen months and have been very close to," the superstar said of sequels. "So yeah, I hope I get to see Captain Jack again."

With Knightley, Bloom and Verbinski finished (as a director, anyways), the sequels/spin-offs would undoubtedly focus on Jack Sparrow and his search for the fountain of youth. "You could take it in any kind of direction, but it's definitely left open, the possibility of there being a fourth," said Naomie Harris, whose Tia Dalma could return to expand the implied romance between her and Sparrow. "I'd be open to that," she said of the idea.

"I am too," Lee Arenberg said of the inevitable return of comedic duo Pintel and Ragetti. "I've got a baby on the way, so I'm hoping [for more sequels]." "Me and Mackenzie [Crook] could be the new Laurel and Hardy," he added. "That would work."

If the Sparrow spin-offs do take flight, Geoffrey Rush said he'd be willing to bring Barbossa back. "If some new ideas came up, people would be interested," he grinned. "We're going to wait and see." At the end of the day, however, it's all in the hands of producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "We'll see how this opens," he told us. "If people love it, then we'll decide what to do." Judging by this weekend's huge box-office, it sounds like "CSI" won't be the only thing Bruckheimer will be spinning-off in the months to come.

Were you happy with "At World's End"? Do you want to see more sequels? Post your thoughts in the comments section, mateys!