The coronavirus pandemic forced Marvel Studios to delay every film and television show it had planned for the year and after multiple adjustments, the MCU appeared to finally settle into a definite schedule… that is before the earth-shattering announcement that Disney intended to shake up their entire 2022-2023 release schedule.
Black Widow, which had been the first film delayed in 2020, finally arrived in July, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings following in September. The MCU has two more movies planned for the rest of the year, Eternals, which premiered in Hollywood this week and Spider-Man: No Way Home (a Sony release), and both are committed to their respective November and December release dates.
Not only were five named Marvel movies, plus the fifth and final Indiana Jones film pushed back, but three untitled Marvel films were completely removed from their schedule, plus an untitled Disney Live-Action Movie.
These massive delays are reportedly due to production concerns and not the box office, which makes sense when considering Shang-Chi has become the highest-grossing movie of 2021 at this point in the year.
It was reported to Variety that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still currently filming in Atlanta, which supports the explanation that the scheduling overhaul is related to production and not box office returns.
Which Disney movies are delayed?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, previously dated on 3/25/22 moves to 5/6/22
Thor: Love and Thunder, previously dated on 5/6/22 moves to 7/8/22
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, previously dated on 7/8/22 moves to 11/11/22
Untitled Indiana Jones Movie, previously dated on 7/29/22 moves to 6/30/23
Untitled Disney Live-Action Movie, previously dated on 7/14/23 is removed from schedule
The Marvels, previously dated on 11/11/22 moves to 2/17/23
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, previously dated on 2/17/23 moves to 7/28/23
Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 7/28/23 is removed from schedule
Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 10/6/23 is removed from schedule
Untitled 20th-Century Movie previously dated on 10/20/23 is removed from schedule
Untitled Marvel Movie, previously dated on 11/10/23 moves UP to 11/3/23
The only MCU movie to come out of this unscathed beyond the two remaining for this year is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which remains poised to debut in May 2023.
This news is a HUGE blow to Marvel fans who were eagerly anticipating all these movies, but it also isn’t much of a surprise at this point in the pandemic.
If you take a look at those dates, these films are just getting the next Marvel movie slot behind them, so it’s not ridiculously alarming. Disappointing to fans, yes, but not a huge shock. The good news to comic book movie fans is that now the entire month of March is wide open for DC’s The Batman to dominate, which is set for release on March 4.
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Disney fans will still have the opportunity to get their fix with the Pixar film Turning Red, which is currently set for release on March 11. Directed by Domee Shi, the animated movie is about a teen girl who turns into a giant red panda.
The Indiana Jones move paves the way for another DC title, Black Adam which stars Dwayne the Rock Johnson. The two films were scheduled to release the same weekend and now The Rock will rule the weekend, and more than likely the entire month of July, unopposed.
Of course, Disney and Marvel are not yielding the box office with all their changes, The Flash, which was set to open in November 2022 one weekend ahead of The Marvels, will now have to compete with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is arguably one of Disney/Marvel’s most anticipated upcoming films. The sequel to Ryan Coogler’s $700 million domestic-grossing film is expected to be a contender for the title of top grossing film next year.
