After months of speculation, it looks like the rumors are true: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is set to reprise his "Pirates of the Caribbean" role as Captain Teague, the father of Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp). Richards first made a cameo as Captain Teague in the 2007 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End," the third film in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. According to a Reuters article, Richards returns to the role in 2011’s "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth film in the series.
Walt Disney Pictures, which releases the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, still has not officially confirmed that Richards is in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," which is still filming. There’s no word yet on how large Richards’ role in the film would be or how he will figure into the movie’s plot. [October 18, 2010 update: Disney confirmed that Richards is reprising his role as Captain Teague in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."]
Depp has credited Richards with being the main inspiration for how he plays the Jack Sparrow character, which first appeared in 2003’s "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Depp received his first Oscar nomination for his performance in the film. While Jack Sparrow is a character that is often humorous, Captain Teague is more menacing. You could say that Jack Sparrow represents Richards' lighter side, while Captain Teague represents Richards’ darker side.
In an interview with The Times that was published on October 15, 2010, Richards said of returning to the role of Captain Teague: "It takes two hours to put the wig and make-up on. Back into the hairy prison. 'Ooooh, sorry about my sword, babe,' ha ha ha."
It will be interesting to see if Richards’ screen time will increase or decrease in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," since the movie is the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film under a new director (Rob Marshall) and without original "Pirates of the Caribbean" co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom. Gore Verbinski directed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, and he, Bloom and Knightley opted out of doing the fourth "Pirates" film. (The second movie in the series is 2006’s "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.")
Although Depp has been a longtime admirer of Richards, it took a while for Richards to recognize the actor when he noticed that Depp was hanging out with Richards’ son, Marlon. In an interview with The Times to promote his memoir "Life," Richards says that he initially thought that Depp was Marlon’s drug dealer: "It took me two years before I realized who he was. He was just one of my son Marlon's mates, hanging around the house playing guitar. I never ask Marlon's mates who they are because, you know, 'I'm a dope dealer.’ Then one day I was at dinner and I'm like 'Whoa, Scissorhands!'," referring to Depp’s title role in the 1990 movie "Edward Scissorhands."
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies aren’t the only film projects that Depp and Richards have together. Depp is set to direct a documentary on Richards. The documentary does not yet have a title or release date.
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