On Tuesday, Disney reshuffled its release calendar in a substantial way.
The studio provided brand-new release dates for films in the Star Wars, Marvel and Avatar universes, as well as a live-action remake for Moana and other new projects.
Even one of the biggest media companies on the planet isn’t immune to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, as a number of film and television projects have been shut down in wake of the holdouts.
However, Disney fans will still get plenty of new projects in their favorite series in the years to come.
Let’s break down five of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s news.
Here is the full Disney/Fox slate from 2023-2031, as of 6/13/23 pic.twitter.com/KApkxpairq
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) June 13, 2023
It's going to be a little longer until more Star Wars movies
Star Wars fans will have to lean on the television for just a bit longer until the franchise returns to theaters after a new movie had been dated for December 2025.
Disney has officially dated two Star Wars films for 2026, one on May 22 and another on December 18. Another film has been dated for December 17, 2027.
While we’re not exactly sure what films will actually be coming out at that point, it’d make sense for the latest Daisy Ridley-led film to hit first in 2026 and for Dave Filoni’s Mandalorian universe finale to come out that year as well.
Filmmaker James Mangold’s prequel film could be what hits in 2027, but it’s all speculation until Lucasfilm officially sets a single project on a single date.
The MCU gets a major shuffle
The writer’s strike seems to be hitting the Marvel Cinematic Universe as hard as any corner of the film world, as several projects have now been delayed.
- The third Deadpool movie (featuring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine) will now come out a little earlier on May 3, 2024.
- Anthony Mackie’s first Captain America film, now titled Captain America: Brave New World, has shifted to July 26, 2024.
- The MCU latest team-up film Thunderbolts (featuring Florence Pugh and David Harbour) has moved to Dec. 20, 2024.
- Mahershala Ali’s Blade film will now release on Feb. 14, 2025.
- The latest Fantastic Four film has slided to May 2, 2025.
- The two latest Avengers films will now come out in 2026 (Avengers: Kang Dynasty, May 1) and 2027 (Avengers: Secret War, May 7).
- A few undated films are also set for 2026 (Feb. 13, July 24, Nov. 6).
We won't get a new Avatar film until 2025, and the fifth film is dated for 2031 (?!)
The latest Avatar film, Avatar 3, won’t hit theaters until 2025 after being moved a year off of its December 2024 original window.
The sequel will now hit Dec. 19, 2025.
There will then be a four-year gap until Avatar 4 (December 21, 2029) and a six-year gap until Avatar 5 (December 19, 2031).
Disney's live-action Moana remake hits in summer 2025
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s attempt to bring a live-action Moana to big screens has a firm release date.
Disney has dated the live-action remake for June 27, 2025.
It’ll be less than nine years after the original film hit theaters, making it Disney’s quickest turnaround yet for an animated film being revamped into a live-action project.
A new Alien film is coming out next year
In space, nobody can hear you scream. However, they can watch your new Alien movie.
Filmmaker Fede Alvarez’s take on the Alien franchise has an official release date of Aug. 18, 2024.
