Walt Disney Pictures has announced date changes for two of its' 2013 flicks while adding one new one to its' schedule....
Originally put on hold due to budget concerns, Disney has finally negotiated with director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean movies I-III and Rango) and has set action western adaption The Lone Ranger for May 31, 2013. Filming is set to start in February 2012 and will star Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Before being temporarily shelved, it was originally scheduled for December 21, 2012.
Disney also moved the date of the highly-anticipated superhero sequel Thor 2 to November 15, 2013, after originally being scheduled for July 26 of that year. The original Thor was a box office success, earning over $180 million domestically and $450 million worldwide this past summer. Chris Hemsworth is set to return as the titular character, but audiences will see him in The Avengers, which is set to hit theaters on May 4, 2012. That will also be the first film by Marvel Studios to be distributed by Disney, who bought the distribution rights two years ago.
That leaves Disney to put the live-action adaption of Phineas and Ferb on the July 26, 2013 date. Based on the cartoon sensation, it will be the third time a Disney Channel series has had a movie in theaters, after Lizzie MgGuire, and Hannah Montana. But the summer of 2013 will be a crowded one for family movies, as so far it will face competition from Despicable Me 2, Turbo (from DreamWorks), the Pixar prequel Monsters University, and The Smurfs 2, which releases the following week. Sean Bailey, the producer of Tron: Legacy, is on board to direct.
