New 'Pirates of the Caribbean' trailer mixes old and new

Posted Monday, December 13, 2010 at 4:19 PM Central

by John Couture

Yahoo! released the first teaser trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides today giving the world the latest look at Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp returns in the starring role, but little else (save for Geoffrey Rush) from the first three movies shows up from the first three movies.

Gone are co-leads Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, replaced by Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane as the ruthless Blackbeard in a tale about searching for the eternally beguiling fountain of youth. While the look and feel of a proper Captain Jack Sparrow movie returns, there is seemingly more emphasis on action in this new installment as evidenced by the trailer below.

The teaser seemingly touches on a bit of everything without giving away the entire movie. Don't worry, there's still plenty of innuendo filled Captain Jack to whet your fancy. While I found the first three movies to be delightful diversions from otherwise mediocre action films, I did tend to think that the trilogy had run its course by the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

As the beginning chapter of a planned, new trilogy, I'm still wondering if there's enough left in the tank to warrant three new tales. Given the large box office receipts of its predecessors, I'm sure that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will more than deliver to satisfy the built-in audience.

What remains to be seen however, is if these new movies will capture the spirit of the original ones. This trailer seems to try (perhaps too hard?) to do just that. What do you think? Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will hit theaters on May 20, 2011.