It’s been sheer chaos in the world of Disney lately. It began with a ton of exciting announcements out of the D23 Expo, but was capped off with the shocking news that long time and much-loved Chairman Dick Cook was leaving, most likely due to being fired (Read: Unexpected Cherry On Top: Disney Chairman Dick Cook Fired? ‘Pirates 4′ Doomed?!). When this news broke, as you’ll recall, it didn’t take long before Cook’s friend Johnny Depp shared his distaste for the news, and that he now wasn’t so sure if he wanted to do Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides — the fourth movie in Disney’s mammoth franchise — anymore.

To add to this madness, a source has told Cinema Blend that while there’s a chance Depp will still do On Stranger Tides, he “definitely” will not be doing the fifth and sixth installments that they have planned for the franchise. It looks like Disney may have to throw a pile of the money at the most popular actor working today in order to will him back once more, but after that, they are saying that they would even go as far as replacing Captain Jack Sparrow with an entirely new character — which would quite possibly be the ballsiest move ever made.

I’m personally not sure how solid this source is, but at this point this should be taken with a grain. The fact of the matter is that On Stranger Tides is still far, far away from its Summer of 2011 release, and we need to just wait and see what Depp decides for this installment. Even if right this moment he’s ready to say he’s done with Pirates after this one, the story could end up being great and he could have a wonderful experience with new director Rob Marshall, and change his mind.

In Hollywood, it can all change at a moment’s notice, and the worst news can always find another ray of positive light.