It figures that in a month where The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny are about to mess with their own respective timelines, a huge release date shakeup has occurred. No need to worry about this year’s schedule though, as this slew of updates starts with the 2024 new movie releases, and it’s all about Disney. Avatar 3 fans, I’ve got some bad news. However, Deadpool 3 loyalists are about to be rather pleased.
Per reporting from THR, it looks like despite James Cameron’s insistence of an “on time” Avatar 3, the movie has now been moved into December 2025. This decision has caused a cascading effect for all subsequent sequels in that sweeping Pandoran epic, as Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will now be released in December 2029 and December 2031, respectively.
As for Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, those upcoming Marvel movies are now set to debut on May 1, 2026 and May 7, 2027. Though it’s not all bad news, as there’s two new bright spots on Disney’s 2024 calendar. Deadpool 3, which is currently in production, will be released on May 3, 2024; rather than its original November 8th release date.
And for those of you awaiting Fede Alvarez’s still untitled Alien movie, that has now hit the calendar with an August 16, 2024 premiere window. Have you got all that down? Good, now let’s talk about what these shifts may mean, and why they might have happened.
Let’s start with those two Avengers movies, which feel like a dead giveaway that Marvel Studios could be playing for time. More specifically, there’s a chance that recasting and retooling of the MCU might be afoot, particularly thanks to Jonathan Majors’ legal issues surrounding multiple allegations of abuse.
Though there’s also the fact that everything from Captain America: Brave New World to Fantastic Four have also been pushed back; so perhaps it’s merely an issue with calendar space. That’s the more likely story, as Deadpool 3 taking the prime May 2024 spot set for Anthony Mackie’s MCU return seems to be the first domino in this particular chain.
Ryan Reynolds’ debut in the post-Fox merger timeline taking such a leap forward does sound promising, and possibly a vote of confidence for director Shawn Levy’s big budget threequel. If there’s any change of plans that has the world wondering just what’s going on, it’s probably the further delay of the Avatar sequels.
This surely isn’t the first time James Cameron has shifted plans, as the history of Avatar 2 delays will readily show anyone interested in digging into the matter a bit deeper. With everything we know about Avatar 3 informing us that the movie has been completely shot, and only post-production standing between the world and this next chapter, the reasoning behind this shift is still not totally clear.
Such is the nature of playing 4D chess with a slate that includes several major franchises at work at any given time. We'll have to just wait and see what sorts of details come out in the aftermath of this huge shake up, when and if they're available.
Thankfully, Avatar: The Way of Water is available, without delay, for those who have a Disney+ subscription. Which is also the same place you can find all four films needed to prepare for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, as it's set to open in theaters on June 30th.
