Well, none of the dates JM have released so far were hard dates, they have all slipped.
My guess is BF cancelled because hes taking too long, too many delays. They advertised release in Q3, now hes talking about release at years end. And I'd say that isnt a hard date either, purely speculative. I don't think he knows when he will be done, and should probably hire some help to finish the production.
How is he going to publish it when its finished?