There are everyday human problems, and then there are Disney problems. For many people around the world, problems can include putting food on your table, among others. For Disney, the massive problems include which multi-billion dollar franchise, “Star Wars” or “Avatar,” to release each Christmas for the next 10 years. As the kids say, the struggle is real over at the Mouse House.
Well, thankfully, Disney has apparently figured it out. Basically, much like the child of divorce, the Christmas holiday will be split evenly among the two franchises beginning in 2021. But don’t worry, fans are going to have plenty of “Avatar” and “Star Wars” to go around.
The studio announced that “Avatar” is going to get custody of the Christmas holiday beginning in 2021, when “Avatar 2” arrives in theaters on December 17, 2021. Then each of the four sequels (still can’t believe that James Cameron is releasing 4 of these things…) will arrive the weekend before Christmas every two years after, in December 2023, 2025, and 2027, respectively. Previously, Fox had slated the Cameron-directed sequel to his box office behemoth to release in December 2020. Now, fans will have waited 12 years between films.
The delay in “Avatar,” plus the self-imposed moratorium on new films, means that “Star Wars” won’t be getting a new film, post-‘Rise of Skywalker,’ until 2022. Fans have been hoping that Lucasfilm would slow down and really figure out the future of the franchise, and it appears that will indeed be the case. Disney has announced that the first in a new trilogy of films is slated to arrive in theaters on December 16, 2022. The remaining two films will arrive every two years after, in December 2024 and 2026, respectively.
The big question surrounding “Star Wars” is what trilogy of films will come out? Are these the Rian Johnson films that have been announced? Or maybe this trilogy is the new slate of films coming from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss? And since Disney announced only three “Star Wars” films between now and 2026, will one of those trilogies move to Disney+ or get announced later down the line? Lots and lots of questions.
So, if you’re a fan of space adventures with aliens and tons of special effects, then your Christmas holidays will be brighter from 2021 until 2027. Meanwhile, for more Disney dates, know that the company just pushed 20th Century Fox films like “New Mutants” into 2020 and James Gray‘s “Ad Astra” to fall 2019.
Here’s a full breakdown of the “Star Wars” and “Avatar” release dates:
Untitled “Star Wars” Film 1 – December 16, 2022
Untitled “Star Wars” Film 2 – December 20, 2024
Untitled “Star Wars” Film 3 – December 18, 2026
“Avatar 2” – December 17, 2021
“Avatar 3” – December 22, 2023
“Avatar 4” – December 19, 2025
“Avatar 5” – December 17, 2027
