While Disney's Marvel properties seem poised to dominate the box office all year long, 20th Century Fox's Marvel titles continue to struggle. On Tuesday, the studio announced that it's pushing back its upcoming X-Men films until 2019, Variety reports. The New Mutants was originally set for release on April 13, 2018, but was pushed to February 2019. Now its being delayed even further, with a new August 2 release date. Dark Phoenix, originally slated for November 2 of this year, will now hit theaters on February 14, 2019.
The New Mutants stars Game of Thrones'Maisie Williams, Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton and Alice Braga, and is being billed as a superhero/horror movie hybrid. But, according to Collider, the film is getting a major overhaul before it hits theaters. After early test screenings, the Josh Boone-directed film will undergo significant re-shoots in order to make the film scarier. A reported 50% of the film may need to be re-shot with one or two additional characters added into the fold. The hope is that the makeover emphasizes the film's darker tone and horror sensibilities, so that stands apart from previous films in the franchise.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which stars Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain and Michael Fassbender, has seen its own fair share of delays thanks to its in-demand cast and their volatile schedules. The full cast won't be available for additional photography or re-shoots until August or September, which would leave very little time to add special effects and other final touches to the film before its original release date.
However, if superhero mash-ups are your thing and you can't wait until 2019, fear not. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters in just over a month.
