Marvel Studios made a handful of changes to its release slate on Tuesday, including the dates for Blade, Deadpool 3, Fantastic Four and Avengers: Secret Wars. According to a report by Deadline, Blade’s production has been delayed, forcing it to fall back nearly a year in the schedule. The other movies have been moved accordingly.
The new schedule has Blade premiering on Sept. 6, 2024 rather than its previous date of Nov. 3, 2023. Meanwhile, the untitled third installment of Deadpool will move back just a couple of days from Nov. 6, 2024 to Nov. 8, 2024. Fantastic Four was previously slated for Nov. 7, 2025, but has been moved up to Feb. 15, 2025. Finally, Avengers: Secret Wars has been moved back from Nov. 7, 2025 to May 5, 2026.
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The changes reportedly stem from changes behind the scenes on Blade. The movie was going to be directed by Bassim Tariq, who has now left the project. As Marvel searches for a replacement director, it has apparently decided it needs more time. Blade is a reboot starring Mahershala Ali, and it has a die-hard fandom with high expectations. Clearly, the studio needs to get this one just right.
The changes may have causes or effects elsewhere in the Disney ecosystem, however. Three other movies have reportedly changed their release dates as well. Chevalier will now premiere on April 7, 2023, A Haunting in Venice will now premiere on Sept. 15, 2023 and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will now premiere on May 24, 2024.
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have a lot more to look forward to before these delays take effect. The franchise’s “Phase 4” will wrap up next month with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, premiering on Nov. 11, 2022. The story will then range into Phase 5 will kick off with three movies in 2023 – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Feb. 17, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5 and The Marvels on July 28. None of those movies have changed their release date, and all are listed as being in “post-production” at the time of this writing.
There is also Captain America: New World Order due out in May of 2024 and Thunderbolts due on July 26, 2024. Finally, Phase 6 will feature Avengers: Kang Dynasty, which has not changed its release date from May 2, 2025. Between these movies, there will be seven more seasons of TV released as part of Phase 5, and presumably more for Phase 6 to be announced later.
Needless to say, these plans could always change further in the months before their scheduled premiere dates. For now, fans can look forward to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Nov. 11, 2022.
