A lot of superhero films have released in 2018, but there are multiple movies that were supposed to hit theaters this year before being canceled or pushed back. It's fair to say superhero movie fever isn't dying down; based on the record amount of them coming out in 2019, the genre could still conceivable continue to grow. Marvel Studios is largely responsible for this thanks to their cinematic universe, but they only make up a fraction of the content.
So far in 2018, Marvel Studios has already released three films, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and The Wasp. However, other studios are profiting off Marvel properties too, with Fox also releasing Deadpool 2. Sony is hoping to do the same with Venom's projected record-setting opening and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Warner Bros. and DC are looking to make a splash in December too with Aquaman, after already releasing the animated movie Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.
Related: All 26 Upcoming & In-Development DC Films
But, building these expansive universes and franchises doesn't always go as originally planned. Some projects move quicker than others, while some just fall by the wayside entirely. For a variety of reasons, there are seven additional superhero movies that were (at one time) scheduled to hit theaters in 2018. Here they are.
The Amazing Spider-Man 3
Andrew Garfield starred as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in two The Amazing Spider-Man films, but plans were in place for Marc Webb to finish off the trilogy. These plans were put in place back when Sony was quickly trying to assemble a cinematic universe of their own, with Drew Goddard's Sinister Six (and possibly a Venom movie) scheduled to bridge the gap between 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
Sony moved Amazing Spider-Man 3 to 2018 to make room for the Spidey villain team-up movie, but alas, the film was canceled as part of Sony's reboot of the web-slinger in the MCU. Webb has discussed his ideas for the third entry, which would've pitted Spider-Man against the Sinister Six. Ideas about Peter's parents still being alive were discussed and filmed as part of an alternate ending for part two. It may have even been able to finally use Shailene Woodley's Mary Jane.
The Flash
Back in 2014, Warner Bros. announced their DC movie slate up until 2020. While a few of the films have managed to meet those actual dates so far, The Flash is one of the examples of projects that didn't come together as well as anticipated, with multiple directors coming and going. At first, despite losing its original director Seth Grahame-Smith, the Ezra Miller led solo movie still appeared to be on track for its March 2018 release for a while. Rick Famuyiwa agreed to direct and brought Ray Fisher's Cyborg with him, and production geared up for an early 2017 start. However, he too left the movie over creative differences and started the long delay that resulted in Flash missing this date.
Currently, The Flash is being reconfigured by Game Night director John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. They've ditched the Flashpoint storyline WB previously looked ready to adapt, and will instead tell a currently unknown story. Production is slated to begin early next year, so it is only a matter of time before Barry Allen gets to run again. So even though The Flash missed its announced 2018 release, it now appears to be heading towards a 2020 release.
Read More: The Flash Movie: Every Update You Need to Know
Inhumans
When Marvel and Sony agreed to the Spider-Man deal, Spider-Man: Homecoming (and the eventual announcement of Ant-Man and The Wasp) reshuffled Phase 3 of the MCU a bit. One of the films moved was Marvel Studios' Inhumans. When announced back in 2014, the movie was scheduled to hit theaters in November of this year - before Marvel completely wiped it from their slate. From there, the future of the Inhumans become much bleaker.
Instead of a sprawling movie franchise, ABC and IMAX picked up Inhumans as a TV show. The series didn't live up to expectations and was swiftly canceled after just one season. There's no sign of the genetically enhanced race joining the MCU anytime soon in a larger capacity than on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Marvel Studios gaining the rights to the X-Men in the Disney-Fox merger means that's unlikely to change in the future.
Read More: The Inhumans Are Done For Now That X-Men Are Returning to Marvel
Page 2 of 2: Captain Marvel, X-Men & More
Captain Marvel
Another movie to be delayed by Marvel's Phase 3 date shifts was Captain Marvel. Marvel Studios originally scheduled the movie to hit theaters July 2018, making it the first film to come out right after Avengers: Infinity War. This changed when Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man & the Wasp was added to the docket, pushing it to early 2019.
It's not known if this shift led to any other changes. Carol Danvers was reportedly set to have a small appearance in Infinity War at one point, so her removal (other than a post-credits tag) may have necessitated a change. This was very early on though, prior to Brie Larson being cast in the lead role or Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck signing on to direct. All three have now finished production and the marketing campaign is about to kick off. First images have now debuted and plot details are starting to be revealed. Instead of coming out straight after Avengers: Infinity War, the film will now be the direct lead in to Avengers 4 - where Captain Marvel is going to change the balance of power.
Read More: Captain Marvel: Every Update You Need To Know
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Fox only released one Marvel-based movie this year, but they originally had plans for three. One of the films that missed out was X-Men: Dark Phoenix. The film serves as the continuation of Fox's relaunched X-Men franchise (and timeline), with long-time-producer-but-first-time-director Simon Kinberg retelling the Dark Phoenix Saga correctly with Sophie Turner leading way as Jean Grey.
Fox previously set the release date as November 2nd of this year, but months before release it was delayed until early 2019. The cited reason is that Dark Phoenix is undergoing reshoots; there are varied reports on the length and significance of this additional photography, but it appears they were exacerbated by scheduling issues. The pickups only now taking place, and instead of rushing through them and the post-production work they'll need to meet the November date, Fox elected to push the release back. The cast remains optimistic this will benefit the movie, and hopefully it does so Fox's era of X-Men movies can close on a good note.
Related: X-Men: Dark Phoenix Reshoots: What's Really Going On
New Mutants
Another one of Fox's not-so-long-ago planned 2018 releases was New Mutants. The movie previously was set for an April 13 release date for this year, with Fox kicking off the marketing campaign with a teaser trailer in late 2017. That was before New Mutants became a troubled project though.
Instead of hitting its 2018 release, New Mutants was pushed back to February of 2019... until Fox delayed it again to next August to make way for X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Like its bigger sibling, the film is scheduled to undergo reshoots that will reshape the story in major ways, going as far as to add new characters. Everyone involved believes this will be best for the movie, but plenty of skeptics still remain, and that won't change until New Mutants finally hits theaters.
Gambit, The Batman, & The Crow
While those are the superhero movies that actually had announced 2018 release dates, there are quite a few others that appeared to be on track for 2018 releases at different points in time. Channing Tatum's Gambit is one of them; it's been in development for years with multiple release dates set and missed, but for a time looked to be getting off the ground with director Doug Liman. Production was set to begin in 2017, which would ha Gambit a candidate for a 2018 release. Liman's one of several directors to leave the project, and at this time, there's no replacement for Gambit and thus no release date in sight.
Another superhero movie stuck in development (somehow) is The Batman. Back when Ben Affleck was attached to write, direct, and star, WB believed it would hit theaters in 2018. Affleck's involvement has almost completely vanished, leaving Matt Reeves to pick up the pieces and maybe get The Batman in shape to film next year for a 2020 release.
There's also The Crow, which is one of the most troubled films in development, superhero or otherwise. The reboot previously had Jason Momoa attached to star and under The Nun director Corin Hardy was targeting a 2017 start to production, which would easily put it on track for a 2018 release. That never happened and Momoa and Hardy have since left the project, once again leaving The Crow in a dour state.
MORE: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie (2018 - 2020)
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