The months ahead were slated to be big ones for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men universe, with three different mutant-centric films on the docket. But in a surprise move, the studio has decided to switch up the timetable on when we should expect to see a certain merc with the mouth and his mutant pals.
Image: Fox
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Deadpool 2 is now being released in the US on May 18 — a full two weeks ahead of its original June 1 release date — in order to get the jump on Disney’s forthcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story, which is out May 25.
As you might suspect, Star Wars films tend to dominate at the box office, so it makes sense that Fox would want to get the jump on the competition. Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds tweeted later this afternoon confirming the film’s new release date.
May 18. #MaximumEffort pic.twitter.com/s7aCBXbaFF
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 11, 2018
While fans can rejoice at the news of early Deadpool goodness, the story’s a little bit sadder for The New Mutants, the Josh Boone-directed horror adaptation of Marvel’s original New Mutants comic book series. First planned to come out April 13 of this year, the film has been pushed all the way back to February 22, 2019 — yes, next year — in an attempt to make sure it’s not competing with Deadpool 2 overseas.
Shifting The New Mutants a few months makes a certain degree of sense considering that the Deadpool films are X-Men adjacent, but a full 10 months seems a bit like overkill. That being said, The Wrap is reporting that in addition to wanting to give The New Mutants space to breathe, the rescheduling is also due to Fox not thinking the film is scary enough in its current incarnation.
Given how much of a tonal shift The New Mutants is away from Fox’s more “traditional” X-Men films, it makes sense that the studio would want its horror film to actually frighten people.
Finally, Fox’s beleaguered Gambit film starring Channing Tatum (which just lost its third director) is now scheduled to come out June 7, 2019 as opposed to February 14, 2019. That can only be a good thing, seeing as how that long-in-the-works movie has yet to get off the ground in any meaningful way.