Disney announced a slate of adjustments to its release dates that pulled some movies ahead, but pushed others far out of their original dates. So widespread is the change in release dates that I’ll be covering them in two articles, with this one focused primarily on Avatar and Star Wars.
Let’s start with Avatar. After the gigantic $2.31 billion haul of The Way of Water, the third Avatar film was slated for release next year, on December 20, 2024. It has now shifted by a year to December 19, 2025. That release date was originally meant for Avatar 5, which now movies by a whopping 4 years, to December 21, 2029. Finally, Avatar 5, should it ever make it to the finish line, will now release on December 19, 2031. To summarize then:
- Avatar 3 now has a release date of December 19, 2025
- Avatar 4 now has a release date of December 21, 2029
- Avatar 5 now has a release date of December 19, 2031
To get a sense of just how far away that is, we’re 8 years away from Avatar 5. And 22 years would have passed between the release of 2009’s Avatar and the final installment. Star Zoe Saldana made light of the situation by sharing an Instagram story, joking that she was 27 when she shot the first movie and will be 53 when the last one comes out. And while Cameron himself didn’t have any comment to offer, he’ll be 77 when all is said and done.
Next, let’s talk Star Wars. After the climactic installment in the Skywalker saga Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker bowed out in theaters to an underwhelming reception in 2019, we haven’t received any concrete plans about what the next Star Wars installments with entail. Recently, there were reports that Disney is planning a crossover film to bring together characters from the TV Shows into a live-action film. We still don’t get any details about the premise of any of the Star Wars movies and they continue to remain untitled.
What we now have is an additional Star Wars movie that is slated for release on December 18, 2026. Now that Avatar 3 is set for 2025, an untitled Star Wars movie previously due for release at that date has shifted to May 22, 2026. Finally, Disney has set yet another Star Wars film to release on December 17, 2027. These could very well be the Star Wars films set to be directed by James Mangold, Dave Filoni and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. With this change, here’s what the Star Wars slate looks like:
- Untitled Star Wars film has a release date of May 22, 2026
- Untitled Star Wars film has a release date of December 18, 2026
- Untitled Star Wars film has a release date of December 17, 2027
The delays are being attributed to production delays compounded by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. With these updates, Disney has planted flagpoles reaching as far ahead as the next 8 years. That certainly assures bloggers like me that there’s going to be enough content to cover, probably a bit too much.
