With the mega Disney merger on the horizon, the future of 20th Century Fox is hugely uncertain at the moment. In addition to questions regarding the general health of the industry, nobody really knows what will happen to the movies that Fox has on their slate at this exact moment. Will the X-Men and other assorted Marvel characters eventually find their way into Kevin Feige's Marvel Cinematic Universe? Will Fox Searchlight stick around? What about the adult/R-rated films that don't appear on the studio's indie banner? Amid lots of questions, Fox switched up their upcoming slate big time last night. This comes only a month after the studio shifted around several other dates for their major projects, causing plenty of raised eyebrows around Hollywood.
First, the big news of the day. X-Men: Dark Phoenix, producer Simon Kinberg's directorial debut and the sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse, has been pushed from November 2 of this year to February 14, 2019. According to an exclusive report by Collider's Adam Chitwood, this is simply because of reshoot scheduling- Dark Phoenix needs additional photography, and the stars won't be available until August or September. With the potential for a short time crunch for visual effects, Fox has now opted to delay the release by a few months.
As a result, Josh Boone's The New Mutants has been pushed back as well, from its February 14, 2019 release date to August 2, 2019. Remember, this was the movie that was originally supposed to debut on April 13- two weeks from this Friday. In that same report, Collider reveals that the root cause of these delays is Fox's desire to make New Mutants a much scarier affair, giving it a distinctive tone and flair. They'll be reshooting up to 50% of the film, with new characters added along the way. Boone is reportedly clashing with the studio, much to the surprise of no one. This project seems to be in trouble, and it's hard not to look at it all with a skeptical eye.
Beyond mutant news, Fox also switched up several other films on their calendar. Bohemian Rhapsody, the troubled biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, is now set to arrive on November 2, instead of its previous Christmas Day release. Rhapsody was originally directed by embattled filmmaker and accused pedophile Bryan Singer, who was fired by the studio after reckless behavior. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher, and it's ultimately unknown what the final product will look like. Nonetheless, it appears that Rami Malek will be generating some Oscar buzz for his portrayal of the legendary singer, so Bohemian Rhapsody is still a movie to watch.
In addition, Fox has set Breakthrough, starring This is Us' Chrissy Metz, for an April 12, 2019 release date. Will Smith and Tom Holland's animated comedy Spies in Disguise, from Blue Sky Studios, will now debut on April 19, 2019, which is almost exactly a three month delay from its original January 18, 2019 release. The Kid Who Would Be King, Joe Cornish's long-awaited follow-up to Attack the Block, has been pushed back again- it'll arrive on March 1, 2019. And with that shift, Fox has delayed James Mangold's adaptation of The Force indefinitely. Who knows if that project will ever get off the ground.
Stay tuned for more news in this area, as Fox prepares to fully merge with the Mouse House.
Images courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Date Sources: Box Office Mojo
First, the big news of the day. X-Men: Dark Phoenix, producer Simon Kinberg's directorial debut and the sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse, has been pushed from November 2 of this year to February 14, 2019. According to an exclusive report by Collider's Adam Chitwood, this is simply because of reshoot scheduling- Dark Phoenix needs additional photography, and the stars won't be available until August or September. With the potential for a short time crunch for visual effects, Fox has now opted to delay the release by a few months.
As a result, Josh Boone's The New Mutants has been pushed back as well, from its February 14, 2019 release date to August 2, 2019. Remember, this was the movie that was originally supposed to debut on April 13- two weeks from this Friday. In that same report, Collider reveals that the root cause of these delays is Fox's desire to make New Mutants a much scarier affair, giving it a distinctive tone and flair. They'll be reshooting up to 50% of the film, with new characters added along the way. Boone is reportedly clashing with the studio, much to the surprise of no one. This project seems to be in trouble, and it's hard not to look at it all with a skeptical eye.
Beyond mutant news, Fox also switched up several other films on their calendar. Bohemian Rhapsody, the troubled biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, is now set to arrive on November 2, instead of its previous Christmas Day release. Rhapsody was originally directed by embattled filmmaker and accused pedophile Bryan Singer, who was fired by the studio after reckless behavior. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher, and it's ultimately unknown what the final product will look like. Nonetheless, it appears that Rami Malek will be generating some Oscar buzz for his portrayal of the legendary singer, so Bohemian Rhapsody is still a movie to watch.
In addition, Fox has set Breakthrough, starring This is Us' Chrissy Metz, for an April 12, 2019 release date. Will Smith and Tom Holland's animated comedy Spies in Disguise, from Blue Sky Studios, will now debut on April 19, 2019, which is almost exactly a three month delay from its original January 18, 2019 release. The Kid Who Would Be King, Joe Cornish's long-awaited follow-up to Attack the Block, has been pushed back again- it'll arrive on March 1, 2019. And with that shift, Fox has delayed James Mangold's adaptation of The Force indefinitely. Who knows if that project will ever get off the ground.
Stay tuned for more news in this area, as Fox prepares to fully merge with the Mouse House.
Images courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Date Sources: Box Office Mojo
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