Fox has moved the release of Ryan Reynolds’ “Deadpool 2” forward by two weeks to May 18, when it will open a week ahead of Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
The action-comedy sequel will open against against Sony’s horror film “Slender Man.” Fox’s move leaves the June 1 date without a film opening.
The move comes less than a month after Disney agreed to buy Fox’s entertainment assets, including the movie studio. “Solo” stars Alden Ehrenreich in an origin story that’s been directed first by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who were replaced last summer by Ron Howard.
Fox also announced Thursday that it’s moving its X-Men movie “New Mutants” back by 10 months from April 13 to Feb. 22, 2019. “Mutants” stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, and Charlie Heaton,
Additionally, Fox has decided to move Channing Tatum’s “Gambit” back by four months from Feb. 14, 2019, to June 7, 2019. Gore Verbinski exited Thursday and has not yet been replaced.
Reynolds is also a producer on “Deadpool 2” with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick returning, along with Drew Goddard assisting. “John Wick” co-director David Leitch came on board to lead “Deadpool 2” in 2016 after Tim Miller dropped out due to creative differences with Reynolds. The superhero sequel also stars “Atlanta” breakout Zazie Beetz as the mutant mercenary Domino.
“Deadpool” gave Fox its biggest hit of 2016 after earning $783.1 million worldwide, supplanting “The Matrix Reloaded” to become the highest-grossing R-rated film in history.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is Disney-Lucasfilm’s second Star Wars spinoff following 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Worldwide box office hit $1.06 billion, making it 23rd on the all-time list.
