After At World's End, the Pirates franchise may not have been the critics' choice, but there was no denying its audience-snaring potential.

After plundering the box office to the tune of $2.5 billion over three installments, Part IV seemed inevitable.

At Disney's D23 expo in 2008, a fully-costumed Depp announced that the fourth installment was in development, though there were no real details (save for Depp's apparent involvement) at that time.

Rumours abounded: would this be The Jack Sparrow Show, an adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones, or would Depp be passing on the baton to another actor who would carry the series in the future?

Then the unimaginable came very close to happening, as Disney Chairman Dick Cook handed in his resignation, and Depp's involvement seemed uncertain.

It was Cook who had got Depp involved in the franchise initially.

Speaking to the LA Times, the actor recalled the first time Cook mentioned the project to him: "I said I was in. That was before there was a script or anything."

Depp played tribute to Cook as "instantly trustworthy... He's a rare beast."

On his 'unusual' performance (considering he was carrying a summer blockbuster on his shoulders), Depp said: "When things went a little sideways on the first Pirates movie and others were less than enthusiastic about my interpretation of the character, Dick was there from the first moment."

"He trusted me... [He] was completely supportive of me."

The actor went on to say: "There's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment."

With a reluctant leading man, the future of the franchise was looking troubled...