Disney has overhauled its film schedule, delaying the releases of “Blade,” “Deadpool 3,” “Fantastic Four” and other major Marvel properties.
As part of the shuffle, “Blade” has moved from Nov. 3, 2023, to Sept. 6, 2024, which created a ripple on the rest of the MCU. “Deadpool 3” has relocated from Sept. 6, 2024, to Nov. 8, 2024; “Fantastic Four” has shifted from Nov. 8, 2024, to Feb. 14, 2025; an untitled Marvel film has been pushed from Feb. 14, 2025, to Nov. 7, 2025; “Avengers: Secret Wars” has been delayed from Nov. 7, 2025, to May 1, 2026; and another untitled Marvel film set for May 1, 2026 has been removed from Disney’s calendar.
In non-comic book news, Searchlight’s historical drama “Chevalier,” starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the musician Chevalier de Saint-Georges, will open in theaters on April 7, 2023; “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is set for May 24, 2024; and “A Haunting in Venice” is dated for Sept. 15, 2023.
In the case of “Blade,” the yearlong postponement is unsurprising, given the recent news that Bassam Tariq exited the project, leaving the film without a director. Marvel has paused the production, which stars Mahershala Ali as the title vampire slayer, as the studio looks to hire a new helmer.
Given the interconnected storylines in the the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the substantial delay for “Blade” reverberated on the rest of the films in development. The next Marvel movie to hit the big screen will be November’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which marks the end of Phase Four of the MCU.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July that “Fantastic Four” would kick off Phase Six, which would make “Blade” and “Deadpool 3” the final two films in Phase Five. The delay of “Avengers: Secret Wars” means that fans will no longer get two “Avengers” movies in the same year. Instead, there will be a yearlong wait between the films, just like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” in 2018 and 2019.
From Variety US