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Disney/Fox Talks
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Before we get to the big-big news, I’ll take a moment to discuss the merely big news. James Gray’s sci-fi flick Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt, is now expected to debut not on Memorial Day but on September 20, 2019. That positions it for a possible Oscar play, although I think Fox and Disney would do well to have a presentation for it at this year’s SDCC (especially if Pitt is there anyway promoting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Sony). But that’s for another day.

 

The New Mutants is now opening April 3, 2020, which is ironically where I suggested Paramount/Viacom move Sonic the Hedgehog should the character redesigns necessitate a delay. Artemis Fowl will now open on May 29, 2020, which frankly suggests a certain amount of confidence in the YA fantasy adventure flick. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt’s Jungle Cruise is opening on July 24, 2020 (instead of October). Oh, and 2020 will end with a one-two punch of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story on December 18, 2020, and Emma Stone’s Cruella on December 23, 2020.

 

If that made you go “Wait…!” I see you, but give me a moment. In a frankly surprising move, Disney is opening Blue Sky’s animated Spies in Disguise (starring Will Smith and Tom Holland) from September to December 25, 2019. That's just days after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Speaking of Star Wars, the really big news out of this deluge of dates (and there are listed in convenient list form at the end of this post) is how Walt Disney is going to use its biggest non-MCU IP.

 

In short, James Cameron’s Avatar 2 is getting delayed yet again, this time to December 17, 2021. From December 2021 to December 2027, Disney will alternate the four planned Avatar sequels (12/17/21, 12/22/23, 12/19/25 and 12/18/27) with three new Star Wars movies. We’ve got the first movie of what presumably is a new Star Wars trilogy (be it Rian Johnson’s planned trilogy or the one from Game of Thrones’ David Benioff, D.B. Weiss) opening on December 16, 2022, followed by another Star Wars on 12/20/24 and a trilogy capper on 12/18/26 (11 years to the day after The Force Awakens).

 

I’m not sure if I’d count a three-year gap as a true sabbatical (back in my day, three years was the normal length between installments), but c’est la vie.  The good news is that Disney took my advice about using the Avatar sequels and new Star Wars movies to essentially even/odd their way through Christmas domination for the next decade. The bad news is that Avatar 2 is being delayed yet again and Warner Bros. is probably going to have to find a new home for Aquaman 2 (currently 12/16/22).

 

Obviously, there are a bunch of undated Pixar, MCU and Disney Animation flicks, but we can all speculate as to what goes where. And they still have an Indiana Jones movie set for July 7, 2021, presuming that all comes to pass. The MCU movies are slotted for May 1, 2020 (Black Widow?), November 6, 2020 (Doctor Strange 2?), February 12, 2021 (Black Panther 2?), May 7, 20201 (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?), November 5, 2021 (Eternals?), February 18, 2022 (Shang-Chi?), May 6, 2022 (Avengers and the Big Balloon Adventure?) and July 29, 2022 (Ant-Man 3?).

 

Let’s check back in July to see if any of those guesses were correct, although I may elaborate in a later post as to why I think I’m maybe 88% correct. The big news is that we’re getting three new Star Wars movies and they’ll alternate Christmas release dates with all four of James Cameron’s Avatar movies.

 

2019 Films

  • 5/10/19 FOX SEARCHLIGHT Tolkien
  • 5/24/19 DISNEY Aladdin
  • 6/7/19 FOX Dark Phoenix
  • 6/21/19 DISNEY Toy Story 4
  • 7/12/19 FOX Stuber
  • 7/19/19 DISNEY The Lion King
  • 8/9/19 FOX The Art of Racing in the Rain
  • 8/23/19 FOX SEARCHLIGHT Ready or Not
  • 9/20/19 FOX Ad Astra
  • 10/4/19 FOX The Woman in the Window
  • 10/18/19 DISNEY Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
  • 11/15/19 FOX Ford v. Ferrari
  • 11/22/19 DISNEY Frozen II
  • 12/20/19 DISNEY Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
  • 12/25/19 FOX Spies in Disguise

2020 Films

  • 1/10/20 FOX Underwater
  • 2/14/20 FOX UNTITLED Kingsman MOVIE
  • 2/21/20 FOX Call of the Wild
  • 3/6/20 DISNEY Onward
  • 3/27/20 DISNEY Mulan
  • 4/3/20 FOX The New Mutants
  • 5/1/20 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 5/29/20 DISNEY Artemis Fowl
  • 6/19/20 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION
  • 7/3/20 FOX Free Guy
  • 7/17/20 FOX Bob’s Burgers
  • 7/24/20 DISNEY Jungle Cruise
  • 8/14/20 DISNEY The One and Only Ivan
  • 10/9/20 FOX Death on the Nile
  • 11/6/20 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 11/6/20 FOX Ron’s Gone Wrong
  • 11/25/20 DISNEY UNTITLED ANIMATION
  • 12/18/20 FOX West Side Story
  • 12/23/20 DISNEY Cruella

2021 Films

  • 2/12/21 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 3/5/21 FOX NIMONA
  • 3/12/21 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 5/7/21 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 5/28/21 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 6/18/21 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION
  • 7/9/21 DISNEY UNTITLED Indiana Jones
  • 7/30/21 DISNEY UNTITLED  LIVE ACTION
  • 10/8/21 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 11/5/21 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 11/24/21 DISNEY UNTITLED ANIMATION
  • 12/17/21 FOX Avatar 2

2022 Films

  • 2/18/22 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 3/18/22 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR
  • 5/6/22 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 5/27/22 DISNEY UNTITLED  LIVE ACTION
  • 6/17/22 DISNEY UNTITLED PIXAR
  • 7/8/22 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 7/29/22 DISNEY UNTITLED MARVEL
  • 10/7/22 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 11/4/22 DISNEY UNTITLED  LIVE ACTION
  • 11/23/22 DISNEY UNTITLED  ANIMATION
  • 12/16/22 DISNEY UNTITLED Star Wars

2023-2027 Films

  • 2/17/23 DISNEY UNTITLED LIVE ACTION
  • 12/22/23 FOX Avatar 3
  • 12/20/24 DISNEY UNTITLED Star Wars
  • 12/19/25 FOX Avatar 4
  • 12/18/26 DISNEY UNTITLED Star Wars
  • 12/17/27 FOX Avatar 5

Good Lord! That's a heck of a lot of movies being scheduled.

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1 minute ago, Bosco685 said:

Good Lord! That's a heck of a lot of movies being scheduled.

Avatar and/or Star Wars have to be well-received prior to declaring "domination".

I personally couldn't care less about Avatar. It'll have to be more than a 3D spectacle to succeed.

The name and nostalgia of Star Wars, alone, won't continue to carry the franchise post-Skywalker.

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1 hour ago, Broke as a Joke said:

Only one Star Wars Trilogy going forward hm

Wonder which group wins out, the GOT guys or Rian Johnson?

F*&%...those are my choices?  With GoT lacking any sort of depth and creativity since the show diverged from the books, I am really losing faith in the abilities of those guys.  And I'm not sure who Rian Johnson had to sleep with to get another shot at the Star Wars franchise, let alone a trilogy.

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Just now, ExNihilo said:

F*&%...those are my choices?  With GoT lacking any sort of depth and creativity since the show diverged from the books, I am really losing faith in the abilities of those guys.  And I'm not sure who Rian Johnson had to sleep with to get another shot at the Star Wars franchise, let alone a trilogy.

Allegedly, The Last Jedi was a good movie. It's 100% a bad Star Wars movie.

Maybe, just maybe, Johnson can direct a Star Wars movie with original characters? I doubt it, only because of Canto Bight. That was 30 minutes of literally useless screen time. They were new characters to build upon, too. It's not like Rey, Kylo Ren, etc have been around for decades.

Idk.

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Also...there's now supposed to be 5 (!!!) Avatar movies?  Whatever happened to it being a trilogy?  Who's to say 2 will even be any good?  Avatar's going to make money because it is the highest grossing (unadjusted) film of all time and people are going to be curious about it.  But beyond that, i'm not sure anyone cares about the franchise enough that they wanted more films beyond the first.

(Question for anyone who's been to Pandora at Disney World...what's the vibe amongst guests?  Are there a lot of people wearing Avatar gear?  Like, if you go to Disneyland, there's a reasonable number of people wearing Marvel/Star Wars gear in the parks now.  Is it the same with Avatar?)

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7 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

Good Lord! That's a heck of a lot of movies being scheduled.

Look closely at the dates.  They did not put Spider-man: FFH (July 2, 2019) on their schedule but they definitely planned around it.  What's the financial stake that Marvel Studios has in it again? 

Edited by Buzzetta
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7 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

Good Lord! That's a heck of a lot of movies being scheduled.

Putting New Mutants 1 week after Mulan & 3 weeks before the next MCU film is a mistake imo. They should release it the last week of August with less competition, for better box office results.

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7 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Look closely at the dates.  They did not put Spider-man: FFH (July 2, 2019) on their schedule but they definitely planned around it.  What's the financial stake that Marvel Studios has in it again? 

Good catch.

Supposedly, nothing as the standalone films all go to Sony. Though a few tracking sites have assumed there is a Disney provision for a bonus when it achieves certain box office targets.

The MCU goal is use of Spider-Man in its movies, which 100% box office belongs to Disney.

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The Russo Brothers are excited to take on different characters and stories, but they do leave the door open for a return. "We love Marvel, we have the most amazing working relationship with them, and we're very close with them," Anthony Russo told Business Insider. "Maybe there will be an idea that comes up in the future, but there is none now."

 

"It's just about finding the right story that inspires us," Joe Russo said. "That's why we get out of bed every day."

 

So, what could that story possibly be? Well, it seems it would very much be either a Fantastic Four or X-Men story, as one of the characters Joe Russo would love to take on are part of that universe.

 

"I love Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four," Joe Russo said. "Doctor Doom was always one of my favorite villains."

 

He also stated how much he loves Wolverine, but also added that "he's got to be set aside for a little while." Marvel Studios Chief Kevin Feige has previously stated it could be around 5 years before we see the X-Men in the MCU, though undoubtedly part of that equation will be Wolverine, one of it not the most popular mutant in Marvel's universe.

 

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On 5/7/2019 at 2:38 PM, ExNihilo said:

Also...there's now supposed to be 5 (!!!) Avatar movies?  Whatever happened to it being a trilogy?  Who's to say 2 will even be any good?  Avatar's going to make money because it is the highest grossing (unadjusted) film of all time and people are going to be curious about it.  But beyond that, i'm not sure anyone cares about the franchise enough that they wanted more films beyond the first.

(Question for anyone who's been to Pandora at Disney World...what's the vibe amongst guests?  Are there a lot of people wearing Avatar gear?  Like, if you go to Disneyland, there's a reasonable number of people wearing Marvel/Star Wars gear in the parks now.  Is it the same with Avatar?)

Having gone to Disneyworld with my family just recently, I can confirm the lines are massive getting into Avatar: Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey. But of the two rides, the latter is massive how long the line was to get in. We had set aside a Fast Pass in advance, and still had to wait to get in. I wish they could make it a 45 minute experience, it is so gorgeous.

But even the surrounding forest going into the rides is incredible. Disney immerses you the experience, and especially at night. We showed up at 9 PM, and you could hear animal noises as if they are running in-between the trees, growling and intense florescent colors spread throughout the vegetation. Check it out.

 

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And although nobody I saw was walking around with a painted face or movie clothing, the crazy toy multiple kids (and adults) were walking around with on their shoulders were the Banshee interactive toys for like $40/each. They come in multiple colors and designs, so you get to pick your Banshee and then the attendant puts it in a carrier as if you just selected a real pet.

 

Edited by Bosco685
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@ExNihilo Flight of Passage is a much more intense experience. You go down a cavern as if like in the movie there is a bunker you are taking in order to select your Avatar, and from there your Banshee. But that 3-D experience was nuts!

Here's what the POV is like once the ride starts. You want to talk about an entire room screaming at once. :insane:

 

Edited by Bosco685
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On 5/8/2019 at 6:08 AM, Bosco685 said:

Supposedly, nothing as the standalone films all go to Sony. Though a few tracking sites have assumed there is a Disney provision for a bonus when it achieves certain box office targets.

What do you mean "all" goes to Sony?  You don't license a property and get nothing from it.  The amount of money that Sony and Fox have been licensing the Marvel characters for has never been disclosed, but they get a percentage of the revenue.

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