MARSHALL STEERING DISNEY'S PIRATE SHIP?

Disney is on the verge of putting Rob Marshall in as director of a fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” a move that puts the film on track for a 2010 production start, with Johnny Depp back as Captain Jack Sparrow.

There hasn’t been a director at the helm of the pirate ship since April, when Gore Verbinski stepped out to focus on a movie version of the vidgame “Bioshock” for Universal (Daily Variety, April 7, 2009). Though that film’s lost some momentum, Verbinski has moved on to other directing and producing projects.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have been meeting with a number of directors in recent weeks, because the studio wants to pull the “Pirates” film together and have Depp star in it before he does “The Lone Ranger” for the producer and the studio. While Marshall’s involvement wasn’t immediately confirmed, sources said things look good enough that the studio has begun casting new characters that will appear in the picture.

It is big business for Disney, as the “Pirates” trilogy grossed $2.6 billion worldwide with Verbinski at the helm. Sources say unless things break down at the last moment, Marshall will be steering the pirate vehicle’s next installment.

Marshall, who made his feature directing debut with the Oscar-winning musical “Chicago,” most recently completed another musical, “Nine,” which stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson and Sophia Loren. The film will be released November 25 by The Weinstein Co.

CAA reps Marshall.