Verbinski is off of Pirates 4 onto Bioshock

According to Variety, Gore Verbinski has decided he is too busy to get on board to direct the fourth installment of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series for Disney.  Right now, Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have greenlit the project and it's even expected that Johnny Depp is back as Captain Jack Sparrow, but now with Verbinski pulling out, it's unsure where this project will go.

Instead of Pirates, Verbinski is putting his time into some other of his own projects such as 'Bioshock', an adaptation of the bestselling videogame for Universal Pictures.  John Logan (Sweeney Todd) has written the script and this is expected to be Verbinski's next job.

Verbinski's Blind Wink Prods. is also developing a bunch of other potential projects for him to direct, including 'Clue', a murder mystery based on the best-selling board game, and even a drama based upon a Wall Street Journal Article following the online fantasy role playing world and it's impact on the lives of the players.  It sounds like Verbinski will be busy for a long time to come, so there's no way for Disney to even delay Pirates to get him on board.

"I had a fantastic time bringing 'Pirates' to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team," Verbinski said. "I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future."

Currently, Verbinski is still working with Depp, actually.  He's been directing a CG animated film for Paramount called 'Rango', and Depp is the voice of the lead.  Again Logan wrote this script on an idea from Verbinski and has a March 2011 release date set currently.