Marvel Studios has announced a change in its release dates for some of its highly anticipated movies, including ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Captain America 4’. The third installment of the ‘Deadpool’ franchise will now be released on July 26, 2024, instead of May 3, 2024. ‘Captain America: New World Order’ has been moved to Feb. 14, 2025, from a previous July 2024 date. Both ‘Thunderbolts’ and ‘Blade’ have also undergone release date changes.
Marvel’s anti-hero centric movie ‘Thunderbolts’, featuring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, will now be released on July 25, 2025, instead of its original date of Dec. 20, 2024. ‘Blade’, starring Mahershala Ali, has been delayed to Nov. 7, 2025, from a previous Feb. 14, 2025 date. These changes are attributed to the delay in production due to the writers’ strike that occurred in May.
As a result of these changes, Marvel Studios now has only one film set for release in 2024, which is ‘Deadpool 3’, and four films set for release in 2025, including ‘Fantastic Four’. In addition to these Marvel release date changes, Disney has also moved the release date of ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ to Dec. 20, 2024, from its original date of July 5, 2024. The prequel is directed by Barry Jenkins.
‘Deadpool 3′ was one of the Hollywood productions that had to halt shooting due to the actors’ strike that began in July. However, Marvel and the ‘Deadpool 3’ team, which includes director Shawn Levy and co-star Hugh Jackman, immediately took action after the strike ended. They plan to resume shooting in London within the next two weeks, aiming to release the film in summer. The extended period will allow them to complete filming the second half of the movie, as well as finalize the special effects work.
Meanwhile, ‘Captain America: New World Order’, starring Anthony Mackie, had completed its principal photography prior to the strike. The decision to move its release date was not anticipated, as many believed it would shift to May 2024.
The strike ending has prompted Hollywood studios to rearrange their release schedules. Sony, for example, pushed back the release of ‘Venom 3′ from July 12, 2024, to Nov. 8, 2024, to provide a cushion following the strike. Other studios have also made similar changes to their release dates due to the strike and preceding writers’ strike.
In his first post-strike tweet, Ryan Reynolds assured fans that ‘Deadpool 3’ would be ready for the summer by sharing a photo of Dogpool, a doggy version of Deadpool, who appears in the movie. Reynolds captioned the photo with a humorous comment about Dogpool causing nightmares for the Disney plushy merch department, indicating that the movie is on track for a summer 2024 release.
With the strike ending, fans can look forward to the highly anticipated releases from Marvel Studios, as well as other studios that have been affected by the strike, in the coming years. The adjustments to release dates are necessary to accommodate the production delays caused by the strike and ensure that the quality of these films meets the expectations of audiences around the world.
