20th Century Fox has once again delayed Avatar 2, the first of three sequels to director James Cameron's 2009 3D sci-fi blockbuster. There's been all sorts of estimated release windows for the highly anticipated sequel, but the studio's latest target was a Christmas 2017 release; that won't be happening, according to "individuals with knowledge of the situation."
20th Century Fox hasn't commented on the delay, but The Wrap reports that there's currently no new release date set for the movie or its two sequels, which Fox has originally planned to release in the same holiday window in 2018 and 2019.
This is actually the second delay for Avatar 2, which was originally planned to release by Christmas of this year (2016). At the time of the first delay, director James Cameron, who intends to shoot all three films in the new trilogy at the same time in New Zealand, simply said the entire process would be too ambitious for a Christmas 2016 release.
On the bright side, another sci-fi blockbuster has been moved and will now fill the holiday void. Earlier this week, Disney announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII has also been delayed, and will now release on December 15, 2017 instead of its original summer 2017 window. Presumably taking its spot for summer is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is set for May 26, 2017.
There's been lots of shuffling between movie dates these past few days, but it's not all delays. Sony announced that its Spider-Man reboot, starring Tom Holand, has been bumped up a few weeks and will now release on July 7, 2017 instead of July 28, 2017. The move makes room for its Jumanji remake which was delayed from a Christmas 2016 release window to July 28, 2017.
