HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong action hero Chow Yun-fat is set to star in the upcoming sequels of box office smash "Pirates of the Caribbean", a press report said.

Citing Chow's wife, Jasmin Chan Wui-nin, Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily said Chow will play the famous 15th century Chinese pirate Cheung Po Tsai for the second and third instalments of the film.

Chow will team up with members of the original cast including heart-throb Johnny Depp (news), Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Keira Knightley.

Rolling Stone legend Keith Richards (news) will also play the father of Depp's character, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Chan said both the movie's producer and director contacted Chow's management company in the US two months ago and Director Gore Verbinski flew to Hong Kong last week to discuss the screenplay with Chow, the daily reported.

"The director was very sincere about it and specially flew to Hong Kong and discuss the script with Fat Gor (Chow's nickname) ... but we cannot talk about the details until we sign the contract," Chan was quoted as saying.

Chow made his name as a gun-toting hero in Hong Kong action filmmaker John Woo's classics "Hard-Boiled" and "A Better Tomorrow". His Hollywood movies include "Anna and the King" and "Bulletproof Monk".

I was just wondering the other day if he was up to anything new. I guess this could be interesting.

Wow - Chow in a GOOD american movie?!? It boggles the mind.

It boggles my mind how overrated the first movie was...

Same here Giles.

It was because people were expecting the worst (Jerry Bruckheimer + Disney + movie being based on an amusement park ride), and it ended up better than expected (Johnny Depp, a decent script and some good character actors in minor roles).

I dunno guys, but I really thought the movie was pretty good

It's been awhile since i saw it, but isn't that bit about his dad somewhat of a spoiler since we thought he was dead or am I thinking of another pirate movie?

You're thinking of Orlando Jone's character's Dad, Bootstrap Bill or something like that. I don't recall Depp's character's father of being any relevance in the flick.

Ah, c'mon, it was fun.

Loved the first one and would love to see him in the next.

I thought it was an incredibly fun movie and one of the biggest suprises for me of the year.
I am very much looking forward to the next one.

Nice to hear the news regarding Chow Yun-fat.

I just wish they would've dumped Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley; they were a drag on the first film.

Why is Geoffrey Rush in this?

Great news about Chow Yun-Fat, though.

Shouldn't it be a shot of Tequila?

It boggles my mind how cynical & snotty people can be about movies without ever explaining themselves.

How many mainstream movies come out in one year? And how many of them are Pirate movies? POTC was like a breath of fresh air. Totally fun yet unlike soooo many major blockbusters it wasn't dumbed down for the audience. A great script with witty dialogue for Jack Sparrow, a tremendous performance by Depp, how on earth could you think that is overrated. A great performance by Geoffrey Rush, beautiful sets & cinematography. And rarely executed life-like use of CGI. Plus the always beautiful Keira Knightly. PLUS, above everything almost everyone thought this movie would be a flop or at the most expected nothing from it.

I can see how all of this could not appeal to someone, I feel bad for them but hey, too each their own, but how on earth is this movie "mind bogglingly overrated"?

And I think Chow is awesome news for the sequel. I didn't think I could look foward to it more but now I am.

Awesome. Finally he makes a good movie choice.

Possible flashback involving Will Turner's dad. Just a guess.

I hope Jack's crew returns and hopefully, a new music composer.

Now that makes sense, and would be quite acceptable. I just hope they don't think they have to mine old material by contriving a way to bring the villain from the first movie back. And I agree with you re. the composer. It wasn't bad, but it was a little too consistently bombastic.

This is one way they can cut back on make-up and wardrobe costs

I have to disagree on the composer. I know it's popular to bash on Hans Zimmer and, therefore, on any protégé of his, but I really would not have enjoyed the movie as much if the score had been any less "bombastic." The power and energy of the score drove the movie nicely and amped up scenes that might otherwise have seemed ordinary.

I judge each movie score on its own merits and its effectiveness in the movie, not who the composer is or who the composer follows in the footsteps of. This is why I like some scores by John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer, and dislike other scores by the same. Of course, you're totally justified in liking PotC's score, but you should know that the people who dislike it don't necessarily dislike it just because of who did it.

I thought the movie was totally overrated.

It was too long, poorly edited, and for a movie about pirates completely unengaging. The script was mediocre, the action scenes repeitive and perfunctory, and Keira Knightley is NOT that hot (I kind of like my women who are shaped like women, not 11-year-old boys). Beautiful sets and cinematography? I give you THE PHANTOM MENACE and ARMAGEDDON.

I did like the acting a lot, though. Depp was fun, Rush was a hoot, and Knightley is a charismatic actress. Bloom was fairly bland, though. NOt his fault - it was a blandly-written role.

I didn't think it was a horrible movie, but NOWHERE near as good as people made it out to be. People find POTC to be overrated because of the massive amount of coin it made, the hyperventilating devotion it seems to engender, and, for many of us, it just wasn't that good.

But I'll see the sequel; Fattie as a Chinese pirate has got my attention.