Star Wars movies and Avatar sequels delayed in major Disney reshuffle

By Bradley Russell
published

Star Wars and the Avatar sequels get pushed back a year, while Mulan and The French Dispatch delayed indefinitely

(Image credit: LucasFilm)

The Force isn’t with this one. Disney has pushed back not only three new Star Wars movies (opens in new tab) but also all four Avatar sequels from James Cameron.

Three unnamed Star Wars movies – with one presumably being Taika Waititi’s project (opens in new tab) – will now launch across several years (via Variety (opens in new tab)). The first (originally intended to reach cinemas in December 2022) will land on December 22, 2023. That’s followed two years later by another holiday release on December 19, 2025. The final movie of the trio is currently set for December 17, 2027.

What about the Decembers in-between? That’s all Avatar territory, meaning Disney has the holiday season locked up for a cool billion dollars-plus for essentially the next decade, which is wild to think about.

Now, deep breath: Avatar 2 is coming on December 16, 2022. Avatar 3 (December 20, 2024), Avatar 4 (December 18, 2026), and finally Avatar 5 (December 22, 2028) will follow.

In a statement (opens in new tab), Cameron said, “Due to the impact of the pandemic has had on our schedule it is no longer possible for us to make that date.”

That’s not all from the House of Mouse. The French Dispatch and, most interestingly, Mulan have been taking off the schedules entirely. Mulan was originally set for August 21 but, with COVID-19 still not under control in the US and other major territories, it appears that the summer blockbuster season is now a complete washout. Mulan, along with The French Dispatch, no longer has a release date.

Elsewhere, The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, will now release on October 25, 2021; Death on the Nile (October 23, 2020) and The Empty Man (December 4, 2020) get slight knockbacks but are still set for this year.

For fans of Na’vi and Jedi, though, it’ll be a slightly longer, if more promising wait, though it remains to be seen what that means for the likes of Rian Johnson’s mooted Star Wars trilogy, as well as the rumoured Old Republic film that was reportedly in the works.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.