Disney has announced changes on the release dates for multiple Marvel Studios movies, including Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Blade, and Fantastic Four. The Avengers sequels Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars have both been delayed an entire year, as some fans and outlets have speculated.
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In addition to Marvel, Disney has announced big release date changes for the Avatar and Star Wars movie franchises, as well (check those out HERE).
Check out the full list of Marvel Movie changes below:
New Marvel Movies Release Dates Schedule
- Deadpool 3 has moved up from Nov. 8, 2024, to May 3, 2024.
- Captain America: Brave New World has moved from May 3, 2024, to Aug. 26, 2024.
- Thunderbolts has moved to Dec. 20, 2024.
- Blade has moved to Feb. 14, 2025.
- Fantastic Four has moved to May 2, 2025.
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has been delayed an entire year, from May 2, 2025, to May 1, 2026.
- Avengers: Secret Wars will shift accordingly, from May 1, 2026, to May 7, 2027.
Why Are Marvel Movies Changing Release Dates (Again)?
While no official reason has been given (at the time of writing this), there is plenty of valid speculation as to why Disney is making these big changes to so many of its movie projects.
First, there has been a concerted effort at Disney under the returned leadership of Bob Iger to reshuffle the balance of production costs across various years. As you can see, the new schedule for Marvel movies clearly does that, The three-films-a-year pace will slow after 2024, albeit with room for new announcements to be made.
Secondly, there is the ongoing Writers Guild of America Strike. The strike has caused all Hollywood productions to either bend or brake, entirely; at this point, every studio is having to at least consider a new timetable for TV and movie projects they’ve already announced. Disney included.
Finally, there have been a number of discussions within the fandom and larger entertainment industry about how Marvel Studios, in particular, has been having some struggles with its brand as of late. Outside of the Spider-Man event film No Way Home, MCU movies have struggled to reach that $1 billion mark. 2023 hasn’t been any more encouraging, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania didn’t even make half a billion worldwide, while even the highly-anticipated and well-regarded Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still trying to hit the billion-dollar mark ($800+ million and counting).
That’s all to say: it may be a big silver lining that these release date changes are happening. While it seems Deadpool 3 is far enough along to finish (especially if it’s the major focus of studio resources), other films can now get more time for the technical polish that has been sorely missing as of late.