Two weeks ago, news emerged that the upcoming Marvel Studios film Blade the Vampire Slayer had lost its director, Bassam Tariq, amid reports that the film’s script by Beau DeMayo (Moon Knight) was not working. Blade was just weeks away from filming, so this seemed to throw some doubt on whether or not this horror-tinged Marvel movie, with two-time Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali set to headline, would make its November 3, 2023, release date.
Well, it turns out that the answer is “nope.” Marvel Studios’ parent company, Disney, has chosen to delay the release of this picture. Since the Marvel movies are connected, this has resulted in the postponement of several other — and much higher profile — MCU entries.
Blade has been pushed back almost a year to September 6, 2024.
Disney JUST announced Deadpool 3, about two weeks ago, and gave its release date as September 6, 2024. It has now been bumped, but only by a few months, to November 8, 2024.
However, that was originally going to be the release date for the much-anticipated Fantastic Four, which will introduce the First Family of Marvel Comics into the MCU. Because of the shift, Fantastic Four is now slotted to open on February 14, 2025. (Have a Fantastic Valentines Day!)
At San Diego Comic-Con International, held in July, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige announced that 2025 would see the release of TWO Avengers movies, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. It is now reported that Secret Wars will be shifted from November 7, 2025, to May 5, 2026. However, it does not appear that The Kang Dynasty has been moved.
It is entirely possible that these delays do not entirely result from the tumult surrounding Blade. After all, that seems like a lower-stakes MCU project. Fantastic Four and the Avengers movies are very ambitious. Depending on how closely Secret Wars follows the comics, it might be the most ambitious Marvel movie yet, incorporating an army of superheroes battling an army of supervillains, possibly from various alternate timelines. It could simply be that these projects just need a little more time to come together.
Are you disappointed that Marvel is (once again) postponing a number of its films?
