Pirates 5 Director

There are rumors that Rob Marshall who directed PoTC 4 is not interested in directing PoTC 5. Since PoTC 4 is very profitable thanks to overseas sales, there will be a PoTC 5. Currently five directors are rumored to be on the shortlist: Tim Burton, Alfonso Cuaron, Shawn Levy, Sam Raimi and Chris Weitz.

I suspect that Burton is on the list because of his long association with Johnny Depp. He also has worked with Disney. His version of Alice in Wonderland was Disney's top-grossing movie in 2010. His batman movies and Sleepy Hollow show that he can make good adventure movies. Regardless, I doubt that Burton would be interested. He is so well-established that he doesn't have to direct someone else's franchise. He can pick and choose his own projects and he has always excelled at filming his own interpretation. This is four movies too late to bring in Burton.

Raimi can certainly do special-effects adventure movies. He could probably make a good Pirates movie but, like Burton, I don't think that he would be interested.

Of the three left on the list, Cuaron would be my pick based on his Harry Potter movie. He took over an established franchise and put his own mark on it. Disney Family has been showing marathons of the first five movies and Cuaron's is the best-directed. The movies that Chris Columbus made were more like theme park rides with a plot, full of little details that slowed the action but delighted the fans. Cuaron turned down the spectacle and turned up the visuals. A few examples - the Whomping Willow went from a mechanical effect to a digital one and modified to look more like a real willow. Hagrid's cottage went from sitting by itself just outside the gates to being across the covered bridge (a great addition itself), and down a hill and surrounded by a garden. Cuaron is also a good story-teller. The Prisoner of Azkaban has a complicated plot involving time travel and the same event seen from multiple perspectives. Cuaron kept all of this clear.

That would be an asset in a franchise known for complicated plots.