Marvel Shuffles Upcoming Film Slate Yet Again, ‘Deadpool 3’, ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, ‘Blade’, And ‘Thunderbolts’ All Delayed

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Nov 10, 2023
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) calls on the American government to "do better" in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Episode 8 "One World, One People" (2023), Marvel Entertainment
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) calls on the American government to "do better" in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Episode 8 "One World, One People" (2023), Marvel Entertainment

In yet another blow to the franchise’s already shaky future, Disney has announced that they will once again be undertaking a delay of their upcoming Marvel releases, this time pushing their entire in-production line-up of Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, Blade, and Thunderbolts back from their originally slated premiere dates.

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) does Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) a favor in Deadpool 2 (2018), Marvel Entertainment
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) does Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) a favor in Deadpool 2 (2018), Marvel Entertainment

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According to Disney’s updated schedule, where once he and Hugh Jackman’s version of Wolverine were set to make their MCU debut on May 3rd, 2024, their multiversal adventure will now hit the big screen roughly two three months later on July 26th, 2024

Wolverine and Deadpool come to blows in Cable & Deadpool Vol. 1 #44 "Head Games" (2007), Marvel Comics. Words by Fabian Nicieza, art by Ron Lim, Jeremy Freeman, John Dell, Gotham, Sotocolor, and Dave Sharpe.
Wolverine and Deadpool come to blows in Cable & Deadpool Vol. 1 #44 “Head Games” (2007), Marvel Comics. Words by Fabian Nicieza, art by Ron Lim, Jeremy Freeman, John Dell, Gotham, Sotocolor, and Dave Sharpe.

Notably, prior to this latest shake-up, this highly coveted summer release date was reserved for Captain America: Brave New World.

However, thanks to this scheduling update, the All-New, All Different Captain America will now make his play for audiences’ hearts on February 14th, 2025.

Sam Wilson makes his debut as the Star-Spangled Avengers in Captain America Vol. 7 #25 "The Tomorrow Soldier: Conclusion" (2014), Marvel Comics. Words by Rick Remender, art by Carlos Pacheco, Stuart Immonen, Mariano Taibo, Wade Von Grawbadger, Dean White, Veronica Gandini, and Marte Gracia.
Sam Wilson steps into the role of the Star-Spangled Avengers in Captain America Vol. 7 #25 “The Tomorrow Soldier: Conclusion” (2014), Marvel Comics. Words by Rick Remender, art by Carlos Pacheco, Stuart Immonen, Mariano Taibo, Wade Von Grawbadger, Dean White, Veronica Gandini, and Marte Gracia.

To this end, rather than drop two of their tent pole films on the same day, Marvel has also delayed their previously scheduled Valentine’s Day release, Blade.

Likewise, with his former spot now occupying a dangerously close date to Captain America: Brave New World, the Daywalker’s reintroduction to the silver screen has been pushed back to November 7th, 2025 – an admittedly bizarre move, as this date misses the thematically appropriate Halloween season by just a week.

Blade rides again on Peach Momoko's variant cover to Blade Vol. 5 #1 "Mother of Evil: Part One" (2023), Marvel Comics
Blade rides again on Peach Momoko’s variant cover to Blade Vol. 5 #1 “Mother of Evil: Part One” (2023), Marvel Comics

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Finally, though directly unrelated to the results of the above described triple-movie-switcheroo, the general schedule delay caused by these scheduling moves has led Marvel to push their Thunderbolts redemption story by six months from their original December 20th, 2024 sortie date to July 25th, 2025.

Interestingly, the House of Mouse’s rescheduling also saw them outright remove two unannounced films from their line-up, actions ostensibly taken in order to free up Thunderbolts and Blade‘s new respective release dates.

John Walker (Wyatt Russell) makes his debut as the U.S. Agent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Episode 8 "One World, One People" (2023), Marvel Entertainment
John Walker (Wyatt Russell) makes his debut as the U.S. Agent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Episode 8 “One World, One People” (2023), Marvel Entertainment

Further, Marvel was not the only Disney arm to announce such delays, as its core film production studio also announced that their The Lion King sequel-slash-prequel Mufasa will no longer premiere on July 5th, 2024, but rather December 20th, 2024.

And while not a Disney nor Marvel production proper, Sony’s third entry in their Venom franchise has also been pushed back from July 14th, 2024 to November 8th of that same year.

Venom (Tom Hardy) suits up in Venom (2018), Sony Pictures
Venom (Tom Hardy) suits up in Venom (2018), Sony Pictures

As of writing, neither Disney nor Marvel have provided any outright statement regarding the exact reasoning behind these delays.

However, as noted by multiple trade news outlets including Deadline and Variety, this superhero shuffling is likely the result of the studios being realistic about how much work is left to be done on their individual projects following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

NEXT: Rumor: Kevin Feige Looking To Leave Marvel For Star Wars Following ‘Avengers: Secret Wars

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