Following a major shot in the arm following the surprise blockbuster success of last year’s Deadpool and this spring’s Logan, 20th Century Fox appears to be aggressively moving forward on its Marvel wing. Separated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fox currently has the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four characters from the venerated Marvel comic book canon. News has recently surfaced that Fox has set release dates for six upcoming features, all of which are currently unknown.
The dates for the six titles are as followed: June 7, 2019, Nov. 22, 2019, March 13, 2020, June 26, 2020, Oct. 2, 2020 and March 5, 2021. These dates do not include known forthcoming titles Deadpool 2, X-Men: The New Mutants or X-Men: Dark Phoenix, all of which are slated to open in theaters in 2018.
The second chapter to Deadpool is currently in production and continues Ryan Reynolds’ acclaimed take as the Merc with a Mouth and introduces Josh Brolin as the villain Cable; Deadpool 2 will open in theaters on June 1, 2018. X-Men: The New Mutants – which will be directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) – continues to expand the X-Men universe and is set to star rising actors Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones); the currently in pre-production title is set to open on April 13, 2018. While X-Men: Dark Phoenix – which will mark the directorial debut of X-Men mainstay Simon Kinberg and will mark the X-returns of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy among others is set to open on November 2, 2018.
Speculation has already begun as to what may fill the dates that Fox has laid out. One possibility is a third installment of Deadpool, which appears likely to be greenlit eventually. There’s also been murmurs out there that Fox may explore a X-Force feature as well as a Logan spin-off expanding on the character of Laura, portrayed by breakout Dafne Keen.
Another possibility is Gambit, a long-gestating project that has struggled to get off the ground recently. Channing Tatum had been confirmed to lead a Gambit feature some time ago – and appears to still be attached – but the film has failed to take off due to troubles in nailing down a director; Rise of the Planet of the Apes helmer Rupert Wyatt was once attached to direct the title but dropped out in 2015.
We will stay tuned to the latest but in the meantime, Marvel fans can start marking their calendars.
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