Marvel is shuffling things around in their movie slate that is going to impact the rollout of the MCU Phase 5 and MCU Phase 6. Specifically, Blade, Deadpool 3, Fantastic Four and Avengers: Secret Wars have all been given new release dates.
The news comes following original Blade director Bassam Tariq exiting the project. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported that Marvel is temporarily shutting down the Blade production, which features Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter. That, unsurprisingly, is having a ripple effect on other MCU movies, which The Hollywood Reporter also shared.
First, Blade has been moved from its original November 3, 2023, release date almost a full year to September 6, 2024. That is pushing Deadpool 3, which is pairing Ryan Reynolds’ merc with a mouth with Hugh Jackman returning to his iconic role as Wolverine, from that September 6 date to November 8, 2024. With Deadpool 3 now occupying its previous date, Fantastic Four is moving to February 14, 2025.
While not directly impacted by any of the other release date shifts, Marvel has also announced that it is moving Avengers: Secret Wars from its previously announced November 7, 2025, release date to May 1, 2026. That means that the second of two new Avengers movies is going to come out exactly one year after its predecessor, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which maintains its May 2, 2025, release date.
With the MCU being this interconnected lineup of movies and TV shows, one release date can have an impact on everything, so it’s not a surprise to see many things shift as a result of Blade having some pre-production issues.
In addition to Ali, Blade is set to star Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) and Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad).
Deadpool 3, which is the unofficial title, serves as a reunion between Reynolds and director Shawn Levy, who have recently worked together on Free Guy and The Adam Project.
We have very little information about Fantastic Four at this time. Matt Shankman recently joined the movie as its director but there has been no word on casting, though John Kransinski did play Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and has long been the dream casting for many fans.
The MCU Phase 4 concludes with the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on November 11. The first MCU Phase 5 movie is then going to be Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on February 17, 2023.
