After originally being slated for a June 1 premiere, Fox has announced that Deadpool 2 will now be hitting theaters two weeks early on May 18.
The change comes as 20th Century Fox switches up the release date for three of its 2018 films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio hopes to avoid an overlap with X-Men movies in overseas markets, where The New Mutants and Deadpool 2 would have been in theaters at the same time. The New Mutants has been pushed back 10 months to Feb. 22, 2019, and Gambit will now see a Feb. 22, 2019 release.
The release date change will create an even more crowded slate for May 2018, however, as Deadpool 2 now arrives two weeks after Avengers: Infinity War and just a week before Lucasfilms' Solo: A Star Wars Story.
This decision comes in the wake of recent uncertainty about the film after Disney acquired Fox, as fans wondered if Deadpool's new studio will try to clean up the R-rated film.
Deadpool 2's lead actor Ryan Reynolds even got in on the fun with a few hilarious tweets about the situation.
Disney CEO Bob Iger reassured fans that nothing will change, however, explaining: "[Deadpool] clearly has been and will be Marvel branded. But we think there might be an opportunity for a Marvel-R brand for something like Deadpool. As long as we let the audiences know what's coming, we think we can manage that fine."
Giving a potential hint at Deadpool 2's official name, Reynolds tweeted a photo in December that was tagged with the words "the second coming," leading many to believe that the film will arrive in theaters as Deadpool: The Second Coming. You can see that photo below.
