Sci-Fi Storm

Some tidbits of the announcements Disney made during today’s sessions at the D23 Expo: The fourth Pirates Of the Caribbean installment has the subtitle On Stranger Tides (and announced with a fully decked out and in character Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow), fueling rumors it may be based on the novel of the same name by Tim Powers; the classic psychedelic Yellow Submarine will be remade in 3D with motion capture; the Muppets are returning in The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made; no plans to screen Captain EO in the parks as rumored, although they did consider it; and while talking about The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (opening July 16, 2010), Nicholas Cage was asked and agreed to star in National Treasure 3). Nothing Star Wars related – yet. That is expected tomorrow.

Upcoming freshman series V and Flash Forward look like they will start with a decent audience – they scored 4th and 5th respectively on the intent to view list, ahead of heavily advertised shows Mercy, Trauma and The Jay Leno Show.