Fox seems to be moving forward with business as usual, despite the pending finalization of the Disney merger less than a year away. And, apparently, that business is perpetually delaying their X-Men properties. After the lukewarm release of the Dark Phoenix trailer days ago, Fox has announced that they are once again delaying the release of the film, moving it from its new February 2019 date back to a June 2019 date, according to Deadline. Along with that, the ever-in-limbo Gambit film, starring Channing Tatum, will move from its June 2019 date to March of 2020.
Dark Phoenix could very well be the last of this iteration of X-Men movies, as Disney CEO, Bob Iger, has already said that the plan is for Kevin Feige to take over the Fox properties and envelop them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fox had hoped that they could have a February blockbuster release akin to Black Panther’s success, but with Captain Marvel due out only a couple of weeks later, there really is no chance of pulling in such large numbers.
However, Fox obviously feels confident that the film could be a Summer blockbuster, but the timing still isn’t great. Avengers 4 and Godzilla 2 will still be in theaters, and several big movies are coming right behind it, including the almost guaranteed smash, Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The other flick, Gambit, has been in limbo for years. Channing Tatum is still attached, but no director has been signed as of yet. And, with the current news that the film may be a super-powered romantic comedy, fans have all but tuned out for this movie.
These constant delays have fans ready to wash their hands of the Fox version of Marvel’s mutants, and salivating at what Marvel Studios will do with these incredible characters. Hopefully we will get some answers on the MCU versions once the merger is finalized next summer. Until then, we will just have to deal with the Fox version to see these characters on the big screen… eventually…
Are you shocked by these delays? Let us know in the comments below!