On Tuesday we delivered news that there were some big shake-ups in the release schedule for 20th Century Fox, but today it's Walt Disney Studios and their many subsidiaries that is making some big changes to their upcoming slate of movies.
First let's start over at Marvel Studios, which is just coming off the ridiculous success of Shane Black's Iron Man 3 last month. The company has actually made a habit of owning the first week in May, releasing Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers and Iron Man 3 on that weekend, and it appears that they will continue that habit for years to come. Not only is The Avengers 2 slated for release on May 1, 2015, the studio has announced that two untitled Marvel films have been dated for May 6, 2016 and May 5, 2017.
From the world of comic book superheroes we now slide over to the next Muppet movie! While the film is still set to come out on March 21, 2014, the project has updated its title. While it was originally going to be titled The Muppets...Again!. the studio has decided to rename the movie Muppets Most Wanted. It's a cool and fitting title given that the movie finds the fuzzy stars on the run around Europe when Kermit is mistaken for the world's most wanted criminal. Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey play the main human roles and James Bobin is back as director.
There is also some good news about Brad Bird's next effort, the mysterious sci-fi film Tomorrowland. Initially the movie was set to be released on December 19, 2014, but it has now been moved up a week to December 12, 2014. Based on as script written by Bird and Damon Lindelof, the film is confirmed to star George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy and Thomas Robinson.
Next we have Saving Mr. Banks, the new movie from The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock about Walt Disney's (Tom Hanks) efforts to get author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to make a movie based on her book Marry Poppins. The film is still currently set to be released in theaters across the country on December 20th, but now Disney has announced that the film will be coming out early in some markets (presumably Los Angeles and New York) on December 13th. Perhaps it's a way to try and build up some award buzz.
Brand new to Disney's upcoming slate is Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which we've been reporting about for the last few months, and is now set to come out on October 10, 2014. Based on the children's book by Judith Viorst, the movie is being directed by Miguel Arteta and puts a fantasy spin on the story by having Alexander wish that his family would experience as bad a day as he is having.Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner will play Alexander's parents in the movie, though it has not been announced which child actor will be playing the titular character.
Into The Woods, an adaptation of the James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical, has been picking up a great deal of steam recently and has now officially been dated for Christmas Day 2014. Rob Marshall, who recently worked with Disney on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, is helming the film with an amazing cast that includes Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tracey Ullman...so far.
We first reported last week that an adaptation of Richard C. Morais' The Hundred-Foot Journey was in the works, and it seems as though the studio is already getting very serious about it. With Safe Haven director Lasse Hallstrom in the director's chair and Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake producing, it's been announced that the movie will go into production preparing for an August 8, 2014 release. The story follows an Indian boy living in France who becomes the culinary apprentice to his father's rival.Finally, we have what appears to be a sequel to Disney's Planes, which is surprising when you consider that the movie won't be coming out until August 9th. Apparently Disney has a lot of confidence in the property, though - likely encouraged by the toy sales of the Cars franchise - and have already announced a follow-up titled Planes: Fire & Rescue. There is no official information about the director or cast at this point, but it will be in 3D and will be in theaters on July 18, 2014.
As always, for all the latest updates about upcoming films be sure to check out our Blend Film Database.
