3 new 'Star Wars' films announced and 'Avatar 2' release date postponed following Disney-Fox buyout
In a major announcement about releases of films that Disney acquired after the 21st Century Fox buyout, release dates of a slew of movies were announced May 7. Disney also announced three new Star Wars films not including 'The Rise of Skywalker' edition.
Fans of 'Avatar' will now have to wait two years for the sequel. 'Avatar 2', which was originally planned to be released December 18, 2020, will now release on December 17, 2021. Following this, 'Avatar 3' is now pushed to December 22, 2023, instead of December 17, 2021.
'Avatar 4' will follow on December 19, 2025, and 'Avatar 5' will be released on December 17, 2027. The $71.3 billion merger has also resulted in filmmakers announcing release dates for a number of movies including Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story'.
There will also be three new Star Wars films that will respectively release during the Christmas seasons of 2022, 2024 and 2026. The studios will be alternating between 'Avatar' and 'Star Wars' during Christmas for the foreseeable future. Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' will be another holiday release slated for December 18, 2020, and 'Cruella' will open on December 23, 2020.
According to a report in Deadline, a statement from Cathleen Taff, President, Theatrical Distribution, Franchise Management, and Business and Audience Insights, The Walt Disney Studios, said "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."
She added, "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."
Summer 2019 releases include 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.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's line-up was also released and surprisingly there are only two movies that are slotted for 2020 other than 'The New Mutants'. The first untitled film will release on April 3, 2020, and the second will release on November 6, 2020.
One of the movies is expected to be the stand-alone 'Black Widow' film. There will be three releases in 2021 with the release dates February 21, May 7 and November 5. One of these dates could be the release of James Gunn's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie. The 2022 line up includes February 18, May 6 and July 29.
If you have an entertainment scoop or a story for us, please reach out to us on (323) 421-7515.