Disney has delayed the next three “Avatar” movies by a year, and has also pushed back Marvel and “Star Wars” films.
“Avatar 3” will now be released on December 19, 2025, instead of a December 2024 drop, while “Avatar 4” has been delayed until December 21, 2029, and “Avatar 5” is now expected eight-and-a-half years from now, on December 19, 2031, 22 years after the first “Avatar” movie was released in 2009.
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“Avatar” producer Jon Landau wrote on Twitter: "Each ‘Avatar’ film is an exciting but epic undertaking that takes time to bring to the quality level we as filmmakers strive for and audiences have come to expect.
“The team is hard at work and can’t wait to bring audiences back to Pandora in December 2025."
Disney hasn't confirmed the reasoning behind the delays.
But according to “Variety”, the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in the US has played a part in the push backs, as has production delays.
Among the announcement of several delays, Disney has also added a new “Star Wars” movie to its schedule, which will debut on December 18, 2026, and another will drop on December 17, 2027.
A “Star Wars” motion picture was expected to be released on December 19, 2025, but that has now been delayed to May 22, 2026, meaning there will be two “Star Wars” big screen releases within seven months in 2026.
Disney has also added a new “Moana” live-action film, which will drop on June 27, 2025, and “Deadpool 3” has been brought forward to May 3, 2024, from November 8, 2024.
What's more, Marvel movie “Captain America: Brave New World” is shifting from May 3, 2024, to July 26, 2024, while “Thunderbolts” will now drop on December 20, 2024.
“Blade” will be released on February 14, 2025, and “Fantastic Four” is expected to hit the big screen on May 2, 2025.
That is the month “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” was due to be released, but that will now be arriving on May 1, 2026 instead, in place of “Avengers: Secret Wars”, which will hit cinemas on May 7, 2027.