In a big slate adjustment on Thursday, 20th Century Fox has moved the release of three upcoming X-Men spinoff films, most notably "Deadpool 2," which is moving up two weeks from June 1 to May 18.
Meanwhile, Josh Boone's upcoming superhero horror movie film, "The New Mutants," is getting a big pushback from this April to February 22, 2019. "Gambit," the X-Men spinoff film starring Channing Tatum, was originally scheduled to be released in February 2019, but will now be a summer release on June 7, 2019.
The move makes the start of this summer's blockbuster season much more crowded, as Deadpool will return to theaters two weeks after his fellow Marvel heroes all hit the big screen in "Avengers: Infinity War" and one week before the launch of the next "Star Wars" anthology film, "Solo." "Deadpool 2" will now go head-to-head against Sony's horror film, "Slender Man."
"It's not a bad move at all," Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap. "The Memorial Day Weekend box office needs more than one big release, so 'Deadpool' could certainly find some room in its second weekend alongside 'Solo.' And it's not that much of a competitor against 'Avengers,' because while 'Avengers' pushes the boundaries of what a PG-13 comic book movie can do, 'Deadpool' certainly pushes the boundaries of what a superhero movie can do with an R rating, so audiences might even see it as a companion viewing experience to 'Avengers.'"
As for why "The New Mutants" is getting pushed back nearly a year after promotional campaigns had already commenced, an insider who spoke with TheWrap said that the move is being made because the film isn't scary enough. "The New Mutants" follows five teenagers with mysterious pasts who have just discovered their mutant powers and are struggling to escape a secret facility where they are being held against their will. "Gambit," which follows the titular, card throwing member of the X-Men in a heist story, lost Gore Verbinski as director earlier Thursday, prompting a search for a replacement.
The one mutant movie that isn't getting moved is the main series' next installment: "X-Men: Dark Phoenix," which is staying put on its November 2 release date.
All 12 'X-Men' Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best (Photos)
The superhero film franchise is still going strong after two decades. TheWrap's film critic Alonso Duralde ranks all the "X-Men" movies and their spinoffs from worst to best.
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12. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009)
It’s incumbent on prequels to have enough vitality to keep us from noticing that we’re heading to a pre-determined destination, but this listlessly written ordeal -- loaded with terrible effects and horrible misuse of future franchise savior Deadpool -- ranks as the hottest mess of the mutant adventures.
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11. "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016)
There are many sins we can forgive in a superhero epic, but dullness is not among them. Director Bryan Singer, usually adept at creating these movies, shockingly drops the ball here, with a who-cares world-domination plot from the titular villain (played by an unrecognizable Oscar Isaac) and more characters than he apparently knows how to handle.
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10. "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006)
Brett Ratner has reimagined himself as a successful producer of blockbusters and documentaries of late, and if that means he won’t be directing any more movies like this one, more power to him. Ratner threw out all the characterization from the previous two films and crafted a thud-and-blunder action epic that emphasized cacophony and spectacle over story. It wasn’t enough to kill the franchise, but this one definitely counts as a stain on its reputation.
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9. "Dark Phoenix" (2019)
What would appear to be the series' final entry takes the X-Men saga out with a whimper rather than a bang. Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) absorbs an alien force-blob that juices up her powers beyond her control, but the film is far more interested in CG mayhem than in characters or plotting. The whole movie is stolen by the hair and makeup on Jessica Chastain, who has been made to look eerily like music legend Edgar Winter.
8. "The Wolverine" (2013)
Something of a mixed bag -- we get two powerful and captivating female leads for Hugh Jackman to play against, before the film gets mired in corporate intrigue and Japanese sightseeing -- but it’s a huge improvement over the previous Wolverine solo vehicle. Jackman promises one more of these, and then he’s done, so let’s hope the upward trajectory continues.
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7. "X-Men" (2000)
Here’s where it all began, and a case can be made that the success of this 2000 film, alongside 2002’s “Spider-Man” and 2005’s “Batman Begins,” laid the groundwork for the modern superhero ubiquity. The film cagily presents friends-turned-enemies Magneto and Professor X as the Malcolm X and MLK of mutant liberation, giving this Bryan Singer-directed tale more heft than just dudes in spandex whomping each other.
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6. Deadpool 2 (2018)
Ryan Reynolds retains his commitment to the bit in a sequel that neither betrays the first film's promise, nor does it kick things up a notch. As a joke told a second time, however, it's a pretty fun sequel, thanks to the extension of some beloved bits and the addition of zesty new cast members like Zazie Beetz and Rob Delaney.
5. "Logan" (2017)
It's 2029, and an aging Wolverine and 90-something Professor X are hiding out from the world at large -- until they're called to help a new mutant find her way to safety. On the heels of "Deadpool," this R-rated entry allows for bloodier violence and saltier language, and if the storytelling doesn't find new levels of maturity, "The Wolverine" director James Mangold makes the most of his new freedoms, resulting in a rousingly fun character-capper (or is it?).
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4. "X-Men: First Class" (2011)
British action director Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake”) gave the series a much-needed jolt of adrenaline with this prequel, taking us back to the beginning of the story and showing how a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) joined forces before tragically parting ways and pursuing differing philosophies.
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3. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2013)
After a lengthy absence, director Bryan Singer returned to the mutants, juggling multiple timelines and characters in a saga wherein Wolverine must return to the groovy Paris of the early 1970s to change history and stop the deadly Sentinels from being created to capture and destroy all mutants. This one’s almost as overcrowded as “Apocalypse,” but at least the characters still get some breathing room.
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2. "Deadpool" (2016)
The overinflated superhero genre has been overdue for a popping, and this breezy action comedy provided the much-needed pin. Making up for the misuse of the character in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” a returning Ryan Reynolds turned the comics’ legendary “Merc with a Mouth” into a human Daffy Duck, bouncing back from every explosion and injury while simultaneously shattering the fourth wall and mocking the franchise in the most R-rated way possible. These movies had it coming.
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1." X2" (2003)
Still arguably one of the best superhero films ever made, this entry enjoys all the second-time-around benefits of any franchise where the first movie had to lay all the groundwork and tell all the origin stories. Smart and politically provocative, featuring strong performances by actors who have been given real characters to play, and loaded with plenty of satisfying action, “X2” remains the gold standard -- and Singer's best entry -- for this series.
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Twenty years after the original "X-Men" hit theaters, how does the franchise stack up?
The superhero film franchise is still going strong after two decades. TheWrap's film critic Alonso Duralde ranks all the "X-Men" movies and their spinoffs from worst to best.
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
