Pirates Producer Jerry Bruckheimer to Sever Ties with Disney?

Following the news that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is being pushed back to 2016, it now seems that producer Jerry Bruckheimer could soon end his long-standing partnership with Disney (as well as its Touchstone banner).

According to Variety, Bruckheimer is scheduled to meet with Disney studio head Alan Horn next month to discuss new terms of their working relationship. Disney has had a first-look deal with Bruckheimer for quite some time, but the current interval of that pact will end next spring.

In addition to Pirates 5, Bruckheimer still has National Treasure 3 lined up at the Mouse House, among other projects. So why the potential split? Well, Pirates aside, the golden age of Disney/Bruckheimer isn't exactly what it once was. Gone are the days of box office successes like Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Pearl Harbor and Con Air. More recently it's been a string of big-budget failures including G-Force, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Lone Ranger.

The truth is, Disney is relying more and more on tentpoles from Marvel and Pixar, which have earned the studio near-unprecedented financial success in recent years. Add Disney's recently purchased Lucasfilm to that equation, and it could mean Bruckheimer's departure. (That said, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 would still likely happen.)

But even if Disney and Bruckheimer do sever ties, that doesn't mean the end of Bruckheimer himself. The producer still has Bad Boys III in development at Sony, as well as Top Gun 2 at Paramount. He's also in talks to come aboard Paramount's Beverly Hills Cop IV.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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