Disney’s Big Fox Release Changes: ‘Ad Astra’ and ‘Avatar’ Sequels Pushed, ‘Deadpool’ Not on Calendar
Ever since the Disney-Fox merger earlier this year, the industry has been waiting to see how Walt Disney Motion Pictures would balance its original feature films with all of the new movies it acquired from 20th Century Fox. The answer has finally arrived in the form of a massive calendar update from Disney. The studio has now dated, rescheduled, or removed over a dozen major Fox releases.
The biggest shuffle is for James Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar” sequels. Disney has announced the first sequel is being pushed back an entire year, from December 20, 2020 to December 17, 2021. The additional sequels will be released as followed: “Avatar 3” in December 2023, “Avatar 4” in December 2025, and “Avatar 5” in December 2027.
Related stories
Disney Serves 'Bob's Burgers' the Movie an Official 2020 Release Date
'Star Wars': Three Untitled New Films Announced Following 'The Rise of Skywalker'
Also of interest is James Gray’s science-fiction epic “Ad Astra,” starring Brad Pitt. The movie was originally slated for May 24 but is now going to be released September 20. The move most likely means Disney will target a launch for the drama at the fall film festivals, be it Venice, Telluride, or TIFF. Disney is also pushing back the X-Men movie “The New Mutants” to April 3, 2020. Fox had previously planned to release the movie August 2 after pushing it back from February 22.
Another big change is the removal of three untitled Fox-Marvel movies that had been scheduled for 2020 and 2021. Now that Disney owns Fox, the Fox-owned superhero franchises like X-Men and Fantastic Four are expected to be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney has also pulled the Channing Tatum-starring “Gambit” from the release calendar. The major takeaway here is that no “Deadpool” sequels are currently on Disney’s release calendar.
Below is the full list of Fox movies Disney has now dated, rescheduled, or removed from the calendar. Fox movies that already had release dates and are not listed will keep those dates, such as “The Woman in the Window” for October 4.
Fox Movies Now Dated or Rescheduled
“The Art of Racing in the Rain” previously dated on 9/27/19 moves to 8/9/19
“Ad Astra” previously dated on 5/24/19 moves to 9/20/19
“Ford v Ferrari” is dated on 11/15/19
“Spies in Disguise” previously dated on 9/13/19 moves to 12/25/19
“Underwater” is now dated on 1/10/20
“Call of the Wild” previously dated on 12/25/19 moves to 2/21/20
“The New Mutants” previously dated on 8/2/19 moves to 4/3/20
“Death of the Nile” previously dated on 10/2/20 moves to 10/9/20
“West Side Story” is now dated on 12/18/20
“Nimona” previously dated on 2/14/20 moves to 3/5/21
AVATAR 2 (FOX) previously dated on 12/18/20 moves to 12/17/21
AVATAR 3 (FOX) previously dated on 12/17/21 moves to 12/22/23
AVATAR 4 (FOX) previously dated on 12/20/24 is now dated on 12/19/25
AVATAR 5 (FOX) previously dated on 12/19/25 moves to 12/17/27
Fox Movies No Longer on Schedule
“Gambit” previously dated on 3/13/20 is removed from schedule
UNTITLED FOX MARVEL previously dated on 6/26/20 is removed from schedule
UNTITLED FOX MARVEL previously dated on 10/2/20 is removed from schedule
UNTITLED FOX MARVEL previously dated on 3/5/21 is removed from schedule
“Foster” previously dated on 3/5/21 is removed from schedule
Launch Gallery: The End Of 20th Century Fox: 40 Films That Defined the Studio's Legacy
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
