Disney shakes up schedule, delays Avatar 3, two Avengers movies, and more
Disney has announced changes to its theatrical release slate, including pushing back new installments in the Avatar and Avengers franchises back a year
Diving into some late spring cleaning, Disney has made some notable changes to its upcoming theatrical slate, pushing back the next three Avatar films, delaying Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, and slating two new Star Wars movies for 2026.
Avatar 3, which was previously scheduled for a December 2024 release, has been delayed a year to December 2025, per The Hollywood Reporter; Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 have also been bumped to December 2029 and December 2031, respectively. That means both movies have each officially been pushed back three years from their original premiere dates.
Also facing a delay are the next two installments in the Avengers franchise, central tentpoles for the MCU’s Phase Six. Avengers: Kang Dynasty which stars embattled actor Jonathan Majors, has been pushed back a year to May 1, 2026; the film’s planned follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars, has also been delayed a year, now set to release May 7, 2027. Majors, who Marvel had been prepping to take on a pivotal role in the future of the MCU, is currently facing sexual assault charges. As far as the MCU goes, Captain America: Brave New World, the recently-acquired untitled Fantastic Four movie, Thunderbolts, and Blade are all also getting pushed—Blade and Thunderbolts both delayed production due to the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike.
Although the Star Wars franchise didn’t escape Disney’s mass rescheduling unscathed (a planned untitled December 2025 film has been pushed to May 22, 2026), two confirmed 2026 release dates still feel like somewhat of a fan win after a lengthy hiatus on big-screen Star Wars fare. A new Star Wars has not premiered with Lucasfilm since 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Another project that escaped the barrage of delays: Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, which has been bumped up to a May 3, 2024 premiere from an initial November 8, 2024 release date. Disney’s planned live-action Moana also now has an official release date of June 27, 2025, along with 20th Century Fox’s latest Alien installment starring Caleigh Spaeny.