Fox pushes back Alita, Dark Phoenix, Gambit release dates, will re-release Deadpool 2

CHANGE PLACES

In what is either a confident move for its projects or an “everything must go” move before being eaten alive by Disney, Fox is swapping films on its release schedule. Alita: Battle Angel, Dark Phoenix, and Gambit are all being pushed back, with an apparently PG-13 re-release of Deadpool 2 taking Alita’s spot of December 21.

There’s a whole lot to unpack here—X-Men sequel Dark Phoenix, which literally just had a trailer yesterday with its original release date of February 14, 2019, will now release in the summer on June 7, 2019. It’s probably a better date for a superhero blockbuster, but this isn’t even the first time that film has been pushed back.

In its previous Valentine’s Day slot is the James Cameron-produced and Robert Rodriguez-directed sci-fi manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel—you know, the one with the creepy eyes. This too was previously delayed, originally moving from July 21, 2018, to December 21. Now, what Deadline reports to be a PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 will take the December 21 slot. Unless this is meant to be some sort of pointed satirical project, I have no clue what the point of this is.

Finally, there’s X-Men spin-off Gambit, moving from June 7, 2019, to March 13, 2020. We were just reminded of its existence today, with a report coming out saying that the Channing Tatum-starring movie will be some sort of romantic comedy. This delay makes a little more sense—the troubled project doesn’t even have a director as of now. To summarize, everything is confusing and probably won’t matter by the end since 20th Century Fox as we know it won’t exist soon anyway.

‘Alita’ Flies Out Of Christmas, ‘Dark Phoenix’ To Rise Summer, ‘Deadpool 2’ Re-release Hits Sked, ‘Gambit’ Now 2020 – Fox Date Changes [Deadline]