Last week was a big one for X-Men: Dark Phoenix, finally releasing its first trailer, showing off those shiny comic-style super-suits, and teasing a cosmic expedition for the long-running mutant saga. But if you were excited about seeing the film in just a couple of months’ time, you’ll now have much more of a wait on your hands – the proposed February release has now been shifted back a few months until the summer. There’s no official UK date yet, but the US is now getting Dark Phoenix (the ‘X-Men’ has been dropped from the title in the States) on 7 June.
That’s not the only 20th Century Fox film that’s been shuffled around – Alita: Battle Angel, the Robert Rodriguez-directed, James Cameron-produced epic anime adaptation was originally slated for release just before Christmas, but it’s now moved to X-Men: Dark Phoenix’s previous 14 February 2019 slot. The move should give Alita a little less competition – a bunch of major films are hitting the big screen around Christmas this year without the behemoth of Star Wars to contend with, including Mary Poppins Returns, Bumblebee, and Aquaman.
In all the shifting around, an unexpected extra addition has been made to Fox’s schedule – yet another cut of Deadpool 2, which at this rate will have more alternate versions than Blade Runner. According to Deadline, filling the old Alita slot will be a PG-13 edit of Deadpool 2, which is rumoured to riff on The Princess Bride and see Deadpool himself reading a storybook to a (now grown-up) Fred Savage. That theory is backed up by this pic posted on Ryan Reynolds’ Twitter.
The new version would follow-up the Super Duper Cut, which was released on Blu-ray and digital on the film's home release.
Plenty of jumping around, then – but it’s heartening to see X-Men: Dark Phoenix get a more prestigious summer launch even if it means yet another delay, and for Alita: Battle Angel to escape the heavyweight box office battle that’s set to rumble this December.
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