Disney Has Delayed Marvel's Deadpool 3, Captain America 4, Blade, & More
With both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes finally over (pending the SAG-AFTRA vote) after the AMPTP stopped cosplaying as comic book villains and offered a fair deal, Hollywood studios are now rearranging their release schedules for the next few years. Many finished films were delayed due to the cast's inability to promote or do publicity campaigns during the strike, while those in production were put on pause as actors took to the picket lines. As such, the entire industry's calendar has to shift around to accommodate these big changes, and now that Disney and Marvel have staked their claim on future dates, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the "we don't want to go up against Disney" release dates from other studios fall into place.
The update that superhero fans are probably anticipating most, the untitled third film in the "Deadpool' series, has been understandably moved off of its original May 3, 2024 release date and will now arrive on July 26, 2024. This isn't that big of a change all things considered, but with the actors and writers back to work, this means Ryan Reynolds is free to improv whatever twisted, raunchy, hilarious nonsense pops into his Wade Wilson-pilled noggin on set.
This means that "Deadpool 3" is taking over the date originally slated for "Captain America: Brave New World," which is instead moving to February 14, 2025. It does feel a bit odd to see such a clear summer blockbuster move all the way to the end of winter, but February is traditionally seen as a "dump month," so there's likely not going to be any huge competition for the film. Then again, with everything shifting around, maybe another studio will take a big swing and throw one of their delayed, highly-anticipated releases up against it.
Even more Marvel and Disney date changes
Two major Marvel releases were shut down back in May at the start of the WGA strike because the scripts weren't ready in time to begin. This includes the anti-hero super team of Marvel's "Thunderbolts," which is being pushed from December 20, 2024, to July 25, 2025. While the date move is pretty lengthy, it does put the picture in the summer blockbuster season, which feels like a much better fit.
The other film is the Mahershala Ali-starring "Blade," with the R-rated picture moving from February 14, 2025, to November 7, 2025. Unpopular opinion, possibly, but this feels like a much better time slot for the film. "Blade" deals with vampire hunting, and a release right after Halloween is exactly when folks are going to be looking for badass vamp killing. This does make "Deadpool 3" the only Marvel film releasing in 2024, but given the state of things in the MCU, that doesn't sound like a bad thing.
Other Disney release changes include the Barry Jenkins-directed prequel film "Mufasa: The Lion King" moving from July 5, 2024, to December 20, 2024, a date that feels like a no-brainer for the holiday family crowd. Two untitled Disney films that were slated for July 25, 2025, and November 7, 2025 debuts have since been removed from the calendar altogether, opening up the availability for "Thunderbolts" and "Blade." Whether or not this means those films have been scrapped indefinitely has not yet been made public.
In the coming days, we expect an onslaught of news from studios revealing their new post-strike schedules, so keep your eyes on /Film for all of the updates.