Disney has pulled Pirates of the Caribbean 5 from its summer 2015 release date.
The fifth installment in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was scheduled to be released July 10, 2015. However, Disney has pulled the film from that date, shortly after bumping Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man up to July 31, 2015 .
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that the decision to delay the film was made because of issues with the script .
“We have an outline everyone loves but the script is not done,” Bruckheimer told The Hollywood Reporter .
Bruckheimer also said that the budget played a factor in pushing the film’s release date.
“It’s all a factor. We want a script that everyone’s signed off on and a budget that everyone’s signed off on,” he said.
Bruckheimer, who has produced all four of the previous Pirates of the Caribbean films, said that not only is coming up with a great script “always hard” but that “everybody’s more cautious” after this summer’s big budget flops. The Lone Ranger , which was produced by Bruckheimer and distributed through Disney, had a budget of between $225-$250 million and only made back $243 million worldwide. The film also suffered a number of production setbacks and received generally negative reviews and criticism, specifically regarding Johnny Depp’s casting as Tonto.
In light of The Lone Ranger and other failures, Disney is trying to keep the cost of the fifth Pirates movie under $200 million. Considering the previous installments, it’s possible — but unlikely — that Disney can meet that goal.
The first film, The Curse of the Black Pearl had a budget of $160 million, and the fourth, On Stranger Tides , had a reported budget of $150 million to $250 million. At World’s End , the third film in the franchise, was the most expensive movie ever made — even after adjusting for inflation — with a budget of $300 million. Dead Man’s Chest had a $225 million budget.
Jerry Bruckheimer said Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is scheduled to begin production in March. According to Variety , Disney may be aiming at Memorial Day 2016 for the film’s release. Deadline reports that Disney is eyeing a summer 2016 slot.