Deadpool 2 gets a 2018 release date (along with two more X-Men spin-off movies)

The wait for Deadpool 2 continues, but at least now we know exactly how long the countdown will last. 20th Century Fox unveiled a handful of new release dates over the weekend, including Deadpool 2 and a couple of other films in the ongoing X-Men franchise:

So to recap, that means we’re less than a year away from seeing New Mutants on the big screen, a movie that’ll be directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) and have more of a “YA vibe” than the traditional X-films, according to producer Simon Kinberg. You can read much more about this team right here, including the fact that Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams might be a part of the cast. I’m surprised this will be the first film out of the gate - especially since we don’t have any confirmed casting about the movie yet.

After that, we’ll see the grand return of the Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 2, with Ryan Reynolds returning as the title character, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on screenplay duties, and John Wick co-director David Leitch directing. Reynolds will be joined by Josh Brolin as Cable and Atlanta star Zazie Beetz suiting up as Domino, but plot details are still hard to come by. Again, I find it a little weird that we’ve seen a little teaser for this movie when it’ll come out a month and a half after New Mutants, but I guess doing things out of order fits in with Deadpool’s whole ethos, so it kind of makes sense.

And finally, the movie I’m least excited about, another X-Men movie directed by Bryan Singer that focuses on Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix saga. X-Men 3 already tried taking a swing at this iconic storyline but whiffed big time, and the idea of a rehash with a younger cast (including GoT alum Sophie Turner playing Jean Grey again) doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve been saying for years that Singer should step away from this franchise entirely and allow some new voices to come in and tell X-Men stories on film; while it sounds like Fox is making that last part happen by green lighting a ton of X-Men movies, Singer’s still holding on tight and doesn’t appear to be letting go any time soon. After the disappointing X-Men: Apocalypse, I think it’s fair to say my expectations are in the dirt for this one… the good news, then, is it can only turn out to be better than I’m anticipating.