Just when MCU fans thought things couldn’t get even more chaotic for the franchise, Disney and Marvel have shifted up their planned movie calendar yet again.
Fans had assumed that with the SAG strike finally settled, work would begin quickly to make sure the MCU rolled as scheduled. Instead, it looks like the strike has only added to changes for the rest of the MCU schedule, not long after several releases were already delayed.
This happens after reports that things are not well behind the scenes at Marvel. From the controversy over actor Jonathan Majors (who was to play arc villain Kang) to complaints on scripts, directors and more, Marvel may be forced to shift some directions.
This now is going to play into a brand new release schedule. Here’s a quick look at what’s changing, the biggest shift being there’s only one MCU movie planned for 2024.
What’s the new Marvel schedule?
To kick it off, Deadpool 3, which was set for May 3, 2024, will now open on July 26. That was the date meant for Captain America: Brave New World, which now jumps to February 14, 2025.
This is a surprising move as, by reports from Deadline among others, Brave New World had already finished filming, while Deadpool 3 was only half-completed when the strikes began. This led to speculation that the movies might simply swap release dates.
Instead, Brave New World is being pushed back with the possibility of some reshoots needed. It should be remembered that with the holidays coming up, some big projects won’t be able to be filmed just yet. It’s also likely several cast members (such as star Anthony Mackie) have already moved on to other projects, and reassembling them will be tricky.
Up next is Thunderbolts, which was meant for December 20, 2024, and will now be premiering July 25, 2025. Likewise, Blade, which was scheduled for the February 14, 2025 slot, now moves to November 7 of that year.
Those latter two movies have a good excuse for a delay, as neither had even begun filming when the strikes happened. Also, the Blade film is expected to undergo rewrites.
So far, there’s no word on if this means more delays as Marvel still seems to hold to a Fantastic Four movie in 2025 and then the two-part Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
However, this just shows how damaging the long strikes were, although hopefully, this means Marvel has time to reassess and shift things up to win back the favor of the fans.