Marvel Studios Shakes Up Release Calendar After ‘Blade’s Delay, ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Now Moved to 2026
Following the recent delay in Blade‘s production, Marvel Studios has decided to reshuffle its release calendar for 2024 and 2025, including a major delay of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, here are the four new dates:
- Blade is now opening on September 6, 2024. (Originally targeting November 3, 2023.)
- Deadpool 3 has moved to November 8, 2024. (Originally targeting September 6, 2024.)
- Fantastic Four will open on February 14, 2025. (Originally targeting November 8, 2024.)
- Avengers: Secret Wars has moved to May 1, 2026. (Originally targeting November 7, 2025.)
While some of these were to be expected, there is certainly some reading between the lines to be done here. First of all, Blade being delayed an entire year seems to make sense. Recent reports point to Marvel and Mahershala Ali being very committed to getting the movie right. They just hired Moon Knight staff writer Beau DeMayo as the new main scribe, and are in search of a high-profile director after losing Bassam Tariq. The movie will likely need a few months to get back in shape, but it’s still very much in the plans. The studio halted pre-production today.
That being said, it’s quite surprising that the movie will now open in September instead of the more thematic date of November 8, where Deadpool 3 has moved into. That movie is moving full-steam ahead, with rumors pointing to a January 2023 production start. It’s always possible that, if things go well for Deadpool, Marvel swaps those release dates again.
The Fantastic Four three-month delay was forced by Deadpool 3 now moving to November. Matt Shakman is directing the movie, which has enlisted Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer as screenwriters. Casting is underway, as Feige and Shakman are taking their time to find the perfect First Family of the MCU.
Finally, on an unrelated note, Secret Wars is moving to May 1, 2026, perhaps as the studio (and Disney) realized they really can’t afford to put out two Avengers movies six months apart and still make good movies on the side. The first of the two-part culmination event for the Multiverse Saga, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, will still open on May 2, 2025.
Avengers: Secret Wars‘ former date has now been taken by an unknown Marvel project — the 2025-2026 Disney calendar has been updated with a handful of mystery Marvel movies. Release dates have been scheduled for July 25, 2025, November 7, 2025 (the slot previously reserved for Secret Wars), February 13, 2026, July 24, 2026, and November 6, 2026, for undetermined films.
Also, an interesting rumor posted recently by the site The Cosmic Circus, which has nailed a lot of Marvel Studios-related stuff (including a lot of the Werewolf by Night production), is saying that Sony and Marvel will be uniting their forces again for a fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland. They could potentially be targeting a July 12, 2024, release date. We will take this as a rumor for now, but it’s certainly an exciting update. On the other side of the spectrum, though, Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned in the new Spider-Man movies, recently said that a fourth movie won’t be happening for a while:
“Honestly, I don’t really put too much thought into that. I feel like we’re all really moving in ways where we’re not really hoping for it to happen. Not that it’s bad, I just feel like we’re not really anticipating another movie. I just feel like we’re all doing our own thing. But again, whatever happens, happens.”
Other Disney dates
Marvel Studios was not the only one to be hit with a major calendar update. 20th Century Studios has dated two new movies:
- Haunting in Venice, Kenneth Branagh’s third Hercules Poirot mystery (which has just unveiled its cast), will be released on September 15, 2023.
- The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, by Wes Ball, will open on May 24, 2024. The movie begins production next month and keeps adding acting talent every week.
Finally, Searchlight Pictures’ Chevalier, based on the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, has been dated for April 7, 2023.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
