The Walt Disney Pictures panel today at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con was full of surprises. Aside from their scheduled Tron Legacy panel, there was also a surprise appearance by Guillermo del Toro, who revealed that he’s going to do a Haunted Mansion reboot for Disney.

Another surprise came in the form of a video message from Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) regarding the upcoming fourth Pirates film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is set for theatrical release in Disney Real 3D on May 20, 2011.

Read the description of the Captain Jack’s video message here below.

Video Description

The video message opens with Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. He talks about how there’s times when he prefers to look at the world from the bottom of a glass — a glass of rum, that is.

Sparrow addresses the rumors that he is recruiting a crew so they can go in search of the Fountain of Young. He says this rumor isn’t true, but that the next adventure will contain substantial dangers, zombies, cutthroats, mermaids, and Penelope Cruz, adding “This is why i’m not going.”

He says that no one knows where the Fountain of Youth is, and to find it he’s need a map. “I’d have to have a bloody map or bloody mary or both, which is not a bad idea. Bloody Marys all around. Bar Man!”

The video ends with the title card and the film’s release date.

Official Synopsis

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise””this time in Disney Digital 3Dâ„¢. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise. When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love””or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa, and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid. In theaters Memorial Day weekend, 2011.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth when a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz) forces him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane).