Disney Announces Release Dates For 3 New STAR WARS Films, AVATAR Sequels, and THE NEW MUTANTS
Disney has revealed a bunch of new release dates for several upcoming movies that include three new Star Wars films, James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, The New Mutants, and More.
Starting in December 2022, Star Wars will return to the big screen with a new untitled film. This will be the first Star Wars film to be released after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is released. After that the two other Star Wars films will be released every other December, so they are really going to space out the release of these movies! The second film will come in 2024 and the third 2026. It’s a smart move with the backlash that the franchise has been getting from some fans, but at the same time, as a Star Wars fan, I kinda wish we’d be getting more.
The first Avatar sequel will be released in December 2021 and the three other sequels will be released every other December. So that puts the dates at 2023, 2025, and 2027.
As I am going through these release dates, I can’t help but amusingly think about how much older I’m going to be when we finally see some of these Star Wars and Avatar films released!
The X-Men spinoff film The New Mutants also has been given a new release date of April 3rd, 2020. I’m happy to see that’s actually going to get a theatrical release. Then there’s Brad Pitt’s sci-fi film Ad Astra set to coming out on September 9th, 2019, and the adaptation of Artemis Fowl is now being released on May 29th, 2020. They also dated the Cruella de Vil film film starring Emma Stone, for Christmas of 2020.
The press release doesn’t mention anything regarding any Marvel films. I’m sure Marvel is waiting for Comic-Con to reveal all that information.
Here’s the full press release:
The Walt Disney Studios has unveiled its upcoming slate following the recent acquisition of the Fox film studios, including changes to previously dated films and a number of major additions.
After kicking off with the record-setting success of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame, The Walt Disney Studios’ 2019 summer slate includes Disney’s Aladdin on May 24, Fox’s Dark Phoenix on June 7, Pixar’s Toy Story 4 on June 21, Fox’s Stuber on July 12, and Disney’s The Lion King on July 19. Fox 2000’s The Art of Racing in the Rain moves up to Aug. 9, and Fox Searchlight’s Ready or Not will release on Aug. 23, while three films move to later dates: Ad Astra (9/20/19), The New Mutants (4/3/20), and Artemis Fowl (5/29/20).
The Studios’ 2019 slate rounds out with Fox’s The Woman in the Window on Oct. 4 and Ford V. Ferrari on Nov. 15, Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil on Oct. 18 and Disney Animation’s Frozen 2 on Nov. 22, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Dec. 20, and Blue Sky Studios’ Spies in Disguise, moving from September to Christmas. Among early 2020 titles are Fox’s Underwater on Jan. 10, a new Kingsman movie on Feb. 14, and Call of the Wild on Feb. 21, followed by Pixar’s Onward on March 6 and Disney’s Mulan on March 27.
The updated calendar also sets release dates for major franchises Avatar and Star Wars. With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker bringing the original Skywalker Saga to its conclusion, three new as-yet-untitled Star Wars films will release on the pre-Christmas weekend every other year beginning in 2022. Four forthcoming Avatarfilms, expanding the vibrant world of Pandora, will release on the pre-Christmas weekend every other year beginning in 2021. In the holiday corridor for 2020, Fox’s West Side Story adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, will debut Dec. 18 in the pre-Christmas slot, with Disney’s Cruella opening Wednesday, Dec. 23, for the long holiday weekend.
“We’re excited to put in place a robust and diverse slate that lays the foundation of our long-term strategy, bringing together a breadth of films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox, Fox Searchlight, and Blue Sky Studios to create an extraordinary collection of cinematic experiences for audiences around the world,” said Cathleen Taff, President, Theatrical Distribution, Franchise Management, and Business & Audience Insights, The Walt Disney Studios. “With a strong summer already in place, we are eager to carry that momentum forward over the coming years thanks to a creative wellspring of bold and imaginative stories coming from our world-class studios – including several new chapters of two revered franchises, Avatar and Star Wars.”
What are your thoughts on how Disney and Lucasfilm are handling the release of the Star Wars films? Are you happy that we are going to see less of them getting made and released over the years? Or are you upset we aren’t getting as much as some fans hoped we would be getting?
At least we’ll have the Disney+ shows to enjoy!