Disney Announces Release Schedule Major Changes

Disney has announced a major shake-up to its release calendar, adding a new “Star Wars” movie and “Moana” live-action adaptation to the plate and delaying the next three “Avatar” movies by a year. At this rate, the fifth trip to Pandora will be released in 2031. That’s in eight years for anyone who wants to know the math.

Among the highlights of the overhaul: the live-action “Moana” will be released on June 27, 2025; “Deadpool 3” moved up from November 8, 2024, to May 3, 2024; an untitled “Star Wars” movie is debuting on December 18, 2026; “Avatar 3” has shifted to December 19, 2025; “Avatar 4” to December 21, 2029, and “Avatar 5” to December 19, 2031. Based on this timeline, the final “Avatar” movie is coming 22 years after the original 2009 blockbuster.

Other changes include a massive Marvel reshuffling, which as follows: “Captain America: Brave New World” is moving from May 3, 2024, to July 26, 2024, which in turn is delaying “Thunderbolts” to December 20, 2024, “Blade” to February 14, 2025, and “Fantastic Four” to May 2, 2025. “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” is getting pushed back an entire year, from May 2, 2025, to May 1, 2026. It’s taking the place of “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which is jumping from May 1, 2026, to May 7, 2027.

With the addition of a “Star Wars” movie in December 2026, it means that two movies set in a galaxy far, far away will be released in that year. A separate “Star Wars” movie has been pushed from December 19, 2025, to May 22, 2026. Another “Star Wars” movie is set for December 17, 2027. Disney hasn’t clarified the premises of any of those installments.

Moreover, the new “Alien” movie, produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Fede Alvarez, will open on August 16, 2024.

Production delays and the ongoing WGA strike are part of the reason behind the massive changes to the slate. Disney recently paused filming on “Blade” and “Thunderbolts,” which led to a ripple effect on the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In regards to “Avatar”, the space between the sequels will allow the post-production and visual effects department to continue expanding, developing, and refining the different ecosystems across the vast world of Pandora.

“Each ‘Avatar’ film is an exciting but epic undertaking that takes time to bring to the quality level we as filmmakers strive for and audiences have come to expect,” producer Jon Landau wrote on Twitter. 

“The team is hard at work and can’t wait to bring audiences back to Pandora in December 2025.”