Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

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RELEASE DATE July 7

WHY WE CAN'T WAIT We'd sail anywhere with Johnny Depp's swaggering, staggering Capt. Jack Sparrow.

THE PREMISE Sparrow, Will (Orlando Bloom), and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) are back, this time going up against Davy Jones himself (Bill Nighy) and his army of sea monsters.

SOURCE The 2003 smash Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, based in turn on the Disneyland ride

THE BACKSTORY The ambitious production schedule — shooting two sequels back-to-back, Matrix-style — had to be tossed overboard when last year's seemingly endless hurricane season caused a lengthy, costly hiatus. ''It's frustrating for everybody at different times,'' Bloom says, but he's not complaining about shooting off the coast of the Bahamas. ''We're filming in that transparent turquoise water. It's quite glamorous.''

BURNING QUESTION Can Depp repeat his feat of three years ago and parlay an eccentric performance in a summer popcorn blockbuster into an Oscar nomination?

COME FOR Depp, who seemed to be having the time of his life last time around

STAY FOR Nighy. His hilariously candid rocker stole Love Actually from an ensemble of England's top thespians, so the buccaneer role here should just suit him.