We knew this some time ago, but now it’s official: Geoffrey Rush is returning as Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which will see he and Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow looking for the Fountain of Youth.

They’re the only two main returning characters from the first trilogy, but they’re being joined by a fairly large cast. Ian McShane is going to be baddie Blackbeard, while Penelope Cruz is playing his daughter. Stephen Graham has joined as Sparrow’s new sidekick and supposedly Keith Richards is coming back.

I was hoping that this film would be much leaner after the really bloated Pirates 3, but it sounds like they’re stuffing this one full of characters as well. Gore Verbinski is gone and this time it’s Rob Marshall, director of Chicago, who will be juggling all of this.

via Variety