If you thought Disney vomited out enough news last night to last you for the rest of the year and then a few months into the next, then hold on tight because the studio wasn’t done. Today it delivered its release schedule for the next few years, firming up multiple spots for delayed films and ironing out its Marvel release schedule. Hopefully, this will be one of the last times the studio needs to redo its entire release slate.
Three 20th Century films that were delayed into 2021 now have official release dates and are confirmed to not be moving to digital, staying a bit more loyal to theatrical release than WarnerMedia has. The King’s Man, which already had a 2021 release date of Feb. 12, has been delayed to March 12. That seems a bit soon, but maybe this is the film that Disney has decided to test the waters with. Next, Free Guy, which was supposed to land this December, has been moved all the way to May 21 of next year. Finally, Death on the Nile received the longest delay and moved from this year to Sept. 17, 2021.
There was also some shuffling around of Marvel releases in 2022. As was announced last night, Thor: Love and Thunder was moved to May 6, 2022. However, that’s when the Black Panther-less Black Panther 2 was scheduled for release, so that film has now moved to July 8, 2022. Of course, that spot was already taken by Captain Marvel 2, so it has subsequently moved to Nov. 11, 2022. That will round out Marvel’s films for the year, and so far there haven’t been any other shifts in the release schedule, though with Black Widow still scheduled for this May we could see it all topple again.
Finally, Disney announced a firm release date for Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The film will keep up the tradition of Star Wars films landing around Christmas when it drops on Dec. 22, 2023. As of now, that will signal the return of Star Wars to the big screen after Disney pulled back on its cinematic efforts for the franchise and went hard into Disney+ content.