Marvel’s current 2023 movie slate is now likely to suffer from potential delays
Marvel Studios hasn’t had an easy time getting through its Phase 4 slate, with the effects of the pandemic still being felt across Hollywood. Theaters are open for business and the box office is back to previous standards, but that hasn’t stopped the delays due to backlogs at VFX houses amid rising demand.
But the difficulties didn’t stop there, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Fantastic Four, and Blade all facing late directors. Losing major talent in Hollywood will always be troublesome, and it can come about for a variety of reasons, from creative differences to behind-the-scenes repercussions.
Marvel Studios is still grappling with the loss of director Bassem Tariq at Blade, as production was just weeks away from starting. With production delays expected, a pushed release date seems inevitable, the impact of which could be felt in other projects in the upcoming Phase 5 slate.
MCU will likely delay 2 major movies
Mahershala Ali’s Blade recently lost director Bassam Tariq, just a month before production began in October. With a rewrite of the script and a search for a new director, significant delays in production are expected, which should lead to a change from the current November 2023 release.
Cosmic Circus’ Lizzie Hill reported that January 2023 was being looked to begin rescheduled production. With the original planned to shoot in October 2022 and release in November 2023, Marvel Studios apparently estimated that Blades would need around 13 months to complete, which could push the release to February 2024. .
If Blade were to move to the early months of 2024, that would leave a significant seven-month gap between July 2023’s The Marvels and the Vampire flick. Therefore, a solution to this issue would be to drop the Captain Marvel sequel by several months to 2023 in order to evenly distribute the Phase 5 release.
Marvel Studios previously had an untitled flick slated for February 2024, though that eventually moved to September of the same year and was revealed to be Deadpool 3. In moving Blade a few short months until early 2024, the MCU could preserve its Phase 5 theatrical release. Order when transferring only two movies.
One has to consider the release order and chronology of events in the tangled world of the MCU. Judging by the upcoming Disney+ projects around the same time, only Ironheart and Agatha: Coven of Chaos come in at that time, and should not connect to The Marvels or Blades, so these delays should have no story impact. .
Will any other MCU movies be delayed
After Blade, Marvel Studios has Captain America: New World Order set for May 2024 as its big summer blockbuster. The MCU famously uses that slot to attract the largest audiences for its biggest movies of the year, which probably makes the New World Order safer because, as it’s teased, it has a wider MCU influence.
Everything is on track for the Thunderbolts with the director, writing underway, the cast signed, and production expected to begin next year. Looking at both Deadpool 3 and Fantastic Four, both have plenty of time to release in late 2024, and preparations for them seem to be going smoothly.
Furthermore, the only confirmed release dates are Avengers: The Kong Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, neither of which will be released until 2025. With a director already signed on to the former, Marvel Studios is clearly on course to prepare for the event that will be the blockbuster ahead. of time, which will certainly help ensure that they make 2025.
Unless the other projects require any further changes in production, Blade and The Marvels appear to be the only blockbusters that have the potential to go ahead, at least for now. The former would require changes to allow sufficient production time and scripts to be polished, while the latter would move to reduce the gap between films.
But given the changing nature of the Hollywood and Marvel Studios machines, anything can happen. Until a few days ago, at the time of writing, there was no sign of any problems on the Blade and production was to begin in just a few weeks, so no one can be sure what delays and changes are just around the corner.
Reports also circulated in recent days that Blade star Mahershala Ali, who was announced for the role alongside the project, is becoming “very disappointed with the process”. One can only hope that these production delays will not risk Ali leaving the project, as it will be the final blow for Blade.
For now, Blade is set to hit theaters on November 3, 2023.
