According to the National Enquirer, Zack Efron has been attached to star with Johnny Depp in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.

Zac Efron will soon be sailing the high seas with Captain Jack Sparrow - and be bringing home heaps of booty!

Disney has tapped the hunky High School Musical star to join Johnny Depp aboard the Black Pearl in the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series - and they're paying him $10 million for his role, say sources. That's nearly twice as much as what he was paid for High School Musical 3!

According to IMDB, Disney is trying to groom him to replace Johnny Depp in future Pirates sequels.

Disney bosses want to groom Efron to eventually replace Johnny Depp as the star of the franchise

Efron to replace Depp? Some characters are so iconic, they can not, nor should they, be replaced. It would be like replacing Harison Ford's Indiana Jones and replacing him with Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams. I have nothing against Efron, since I have not seen enough of his work, but to replace Jack Sparrow with a pretty boy like Efron would be terrible both financially and critically.

Could you imagine the Pirates trilogy with Jack Sparrow? The quality of the films would easily be cut in half. Okay sure, all the sword fighting and the special effects would make for an enjoyable rental, like the National Treasure films or any other forgettable action movie, but Jack Sparrow single handed turns this franchise into the Star Wars of this generation. There is a reason why this series is such a hit, and it is not because of Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightley. Taking out the Sparrow would be a blow to the core audience, and believe me there is nothing worse then pissing off your core fan base.

Of course, Disney never listens to the wishes of the true fans of the franchise. But who will they listen to? The answer is none other then the wallets of tween girls who will frolic (hopefully dateline does not arrest me for talking about tween girls and frolicking- I did not mean it like that) to the latest retail store foolish enough to actually purchase a DVD that stars the hottest actors, regardless of whether or not the thing is actually good.

Hey Kids, what did you learn from reading this post? If you look into the crystal ball, you should expect a Pirates of the Caribbean 5,6,7,8,9, and 10 coming straight to DVD. And without Depp, the franchise is doomed.