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...

Vulcans, Jedi and Potter-heads are likely to find themselves surrounded by swashbucklers this weekend in San Diego, as Disney has unveiled a "Pirates of the Caribbean" display that is already one of the most buzzed-about at Comic-Con.

Appropriately enough, the 40-foot-long Black Pearl replica has inspired epic lines while promoting the epic trilogy. Inside the ship's sand and barnacle interior, one-of-a-kind outfits belonging to Depp, Knightley and Keith Richards sit alongside statuettes of the characters, complex ships made from building blocks, and dozens of candid photos shot on-set by Jerry Bruckheimer.

The most valuable piece of booty? Well, even crazier than the $900 couture t-shirt with skulls and the replica Jack Sparrow rings is a solid gold statuette of Depp's legendary character. Only 50 exist in the world, and they are as priceless as all the pieces of 8 combined.

And oh yeah, those are here too.

Check out the rest of our cool "Pirate" pics here.

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!

As George Lucas' magnum opus blows out thirty candles this month, the comparisons to modern epics are inevitable. MTV's Larry Carroll turns sage and argues that the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy is the perfect equivalent to Star Wars, offering up an assortment of characters, plotlines and overall ambiance that take the mantle from the most popular Hollywood franchise of all time. Is he right? Is he crazy? Read his case at "'Star Wars: At World's End'?" and then return back here to pitch in your own thoughts.

Don't worry, the absurdly titled "Tropic Thunder" isn't an action film playing it straight, but a new comedy from Ben Stiller. And judging from the plot, it seems to be a close descendant of films like "Three Amigos" and "Galaxy Quest." The film's basic online plot description says it's about a group of actors forced to become the heroes they are portraying.

But even a group of actors pretending to be heroes needs a heavy, and that's where Reggie Lee from "Pirates of the Caribbean" comes in. "I once again play a heavy," Lee told MTV, referring to his roles as bad guys Tai Huang in "Pirates" and Secret Service Agent Bill Kim on "Prison Break." "[But] I feel incredibly blessed. It's Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black, who are freaking amazing, unbelievable actors."

But what's the movie really about? "It's about trying to put all three of those actors together in one film," Lee said, erupting in laughter. "Without giving it away, it's going to be amazing." Lee told MTV he begins filming the flick in Hawaii this August. "Tropic Thunder" comes to theaters next summer.

He helped create one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, but now "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski is turning his attention to something on the smaller side...unadopted canines. The director is looking to bring Berkeley Breathed's "Flawed Dogs" to theaters as an animated film.

The book -- a tongue-in-cheek catalog of "damaged" pooches held at the Piddleton 'Last Chance' Dog Pound -- is written and illustrated by Breathed, who is better known as the cartoonist behind the popular syndicated comic strip "Bloom County."

"He wrote a great book that I thought was really endearing and interesting," Verbinski remarked. "If we can do something, we're going to start talking about that after a little bit of a vacation [for me]."

The project would mark the first all-CGI film for Verbinski, but the director doesn't consider that an obstacle. "The majority of the work is trying to hash out the story. Making the movie is the next phase. If I can get to a place where we have something that's really compelling, yeah, I would love to do it."

Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" opens Friday, May 25, 2007.

The time has come for her to abandon the swords and swashbucklers; she might be wise, however, to hold on to that bottle of rum. "Pirates of the Caribbean" actress Naomie Harris is the latest star to join "Night Watch," a high-profile drama that tells the story of an alcoholic LAPD cop framed by his former mentor. The flick will be directed and co-written by "Training Day" writer David Ayer.

"[Next] I go on to do 'Night Watch,' with Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker," the actress revealed to MTV News. The flick, whose name was recently changed from "The Night Watchman" (presumably to avoid confusion with Zack Snyder's upcoming "Watchmen"), recently began filming with a strong supporting cast that includes Chris Evans ("The Fantastic Four"), Hugh Laurie ("House"), Terry Crews ("Norbit") and rapper/actor Common. The next in a long line of "Dark Keanu" roles (think "Constantine" and "The Gift"), the flick casts the "Matrix" star as a bottle-abusing cop whose grief for his wife is compounded when he learns that a friend (Whitaker) has turned against him.

The beautiful Harris, a veteran of flicks like "28 Days Later" and "Miami Vice" who might be best known as the voodoo queen Tia Dalma in "Pirates," told us that she's excited to be in the film but can't talk about her character. And it isn't for the usual secrecy concerns - she simply can't remember. "I don't know very much about her," Harris grinned. "I've been offered the part, but I've [only] read the script once; I don't really know very much about my character yet."

Harris does remember one thing about the script, however: It will take Reeves and red-hot Oscar winner Whitaker to some very shadowy places. "Yeah, it's really dark," said Harris, adding that she'll begin filming this summer. "It's a really great movie, though, and I'm really excited to be part of it."