Fox Moved “Deadpool 2” Release Date To Bury “Solo: A Star Wars Story”?

Fox has got the X-Men and Star Wars fandom talking. The studio decided to change the release dates for New Mutants, Gambit, and Deadpool 2, putting the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ in a position to threaten Solo: A Star Wars Story at the box office.

While changing release dates for films isn’t unheard of, Fox’s decision to change them for Deadpool 2 and New Mutants does look weird. Let’s go over the new dates and what it means for each film in the X-Men franchise.

New Mutants Has Been Delayed to 2019

New Mutants will now be released on February 22, 2019, moving it far away from its initial April 13, 2018, release date. Of course, fans are disappointed. Changing the release date just three months before the film’s debut has led to a lot of theories.

Some say that Fox screen tested the movie and even though the reception was positive, the studio decided to reshoot scenes to make it scarier. Apparently, Fox wants a piece of the horror-craze that made It a success. It’s also being reported that Fox didn’t want New Mutants and Deadpool 2 to fight it out at the worldwide box office because some countries had them opening closer to each other. And of course, there are some people who say that Fox knows New Mutants isn’t good and the studio is trying to reshoot major scenes to hopefully make it better.

Personally, I wasn’t looking forward to watching New Mutants. The trailer was unimpressive and made it look as if the film lacked a cinematic feel. It felt like a TV or a Netflix movie to me.

Gambit Lost Another Director

I have no idea why Fox is so determined to make a solo-Gambit movie. The project still has Channing Tatum to star as the titular character. However, the film has lost Gore Verbinski as director, making him the third director to leave the project. The studio has now moved Gambit from the previously announced February 14, 2019, release date to June 7, 2019. When are we going to stop pretending that this film is ever going to happen?

Deadpool 2 to Hurt Solo: A Star Wars Story?

The results of changing the release date of Deadpool 2 is what box office analysts are really interested in. Fox’s decision has gone on to make May of 2018 quite crowded. The Ryan Reynolds-starrer will open early in theatres, moving from June 1, 2018, to May 18, 2018.

This places Deadpool 2 to be released just two weeks after Avengers: Infinity War and only a week before Solo: A Star Wars Story. While opening two weeks after Avengers: Infinity War gives Deadpool 2 some breathing space at the box office, it’ll be interesting to see if the latest film in the X-Men franchise will beat Solo: A Star Wars Story or not.

There are a lot of opinions going around. Some say that Fox, even with its merger with Disney, isn’t going to play nice. Fox knows that there’s negative buzz surrounding Solo (not a single trailer has been released), and the studio wants to present Deadpool 2 (DP 2) as counter-programming to the Star Wars franchise at the box office.

If you think about, it makes sense for Fox to move DP 2 and place it near a film (Solo) that might not become a box office hit. The previous release date for DP 2 placed it in a month where it would’ve faced competition from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Incredibles 2.

There are also some theories floating around about Disney urging Fox to change the release date for DP 2 and place it near Solo. Apparently, Disney knows that Solo isn’t a great and with DP 2 playing a week before it’s release, Disney can spin the story around and blame possible poor box office returns of Solo on DP 2.

Fox hasn’t changed the release date for X-Men: Dark Phoenix. It’s still scheduled to be released on November 2, 2018.

Do you think Deadpool 2 can beat Solo: A Star Wars Story at the box office? Do you think Disney will move Solo to another date? Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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