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Fox Shuffles Release Slate As Deadpool 2 Relocates To May; The New Mutants Pushed Into 2019

In light of Gore Verbinski's departure, Fox has officially shuffled its slate and handed out new dates for Deadpool 2, Gambit and The New Mutants.

The Merc With a Mouth is returning sooner than initially thought.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the so-far untitled Deadpool 2 (Deadpool: The Second Coming, perhaps?) has relocated to May 18th, placing it smack bang in the middle of Avengers: Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Originally scheduled for June 1st, Fox’s reshuffling effort ensures the Merc has escaped the looming shadow of Star Wars – as THR notes, Lucasfilm’s crown jewel typically enjoys a strong second weekend, and the fact that Solo is due to arrive on May 25th means Deadpool 2 will now be able to get the jump on the global box office.

It’s by no means the only X-Men tentpole to be affected by this shake-up, as Gambit has been bumped back to June 7th, 2019. That’s not all that surprising, given it just lost director Gore Verbinski; the real surprise comes in relation to The New Mutants.

Once on course to drop on April 13th, Josh Boone’s horror-oriented spinoff has been pushed back…by a full 10 months. Sources close to THR suggest that Fox made the decision so that its X-Men blockbusters – namely The New Mutants and Deadpool 2 – aren’t playing in select overseas markets simultaneously. Because sometimes you can really have too much of a good thing. Still, a 10-month delay is, on paper, a little disconcerting.

And so, to recap: Deadpool 2 will now kick-off Fox’s 2018 lineup on May 18th, before X-Men: Dark Phoenix swoops into theaters on November 2nd. Further afield, The New Mutants has now been scheduled for February 22nd, 2019 – a full 10 months later than initially planned – with Gambit expected to drop on June 7th of that same year. You know, providing it can keep hold of its next director…