During a conference call to announce their Q1 2003 earnings, Marvel Enterprises today announced that the company and 20th Century Fox are targeting a November 4, 2004 release for their Fantastic Four film. The announcement was made by Marvel Studio's head Avi Arad.
Arad also mentioned that a third instalment in the Blade movie franchise is definitely in the works with New Line, and that there will be some announcements forthcoming this week regarding Artisan's big screen adaptation of The Punisher. Another Artisan adaptation, Iron Fist, is also targeted for a 2004 release.
It was also reiterated that the company's current lawsuit with Sony will have no effect whatsoever on the production, release, or distribution of Spider-Man II, scheduled for a July 2, 2004 opening.
The company is also currently in the scripting stages on six major film projects, including Fantastic Four, Sub-Mariner, and Iron Man.
For those interested in the business side of things, the conference call has been archived at the Yahoo! Finance Web site.