Disney has made several changes to its release dates, with many of them being postponed due to the impact of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and production delays. The delay has affected the production of Thunderbolts and Blade, which are waiting for the strike to end before rolling the cameras. One of the reasons for the delay in the production of the new Avengers movies is the incomplete scripts.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty, which was scheduled for release on May 2, 2025, has been pushed to May 1, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars, which was originally intended for release on May 1, 2026, has been pushed another year to May 7, 2027. The ramifications of the strike and production delays will be felt throughout 2024 and beyond.
Disney also wants to make sure that the MCU titles are of better quality than what they have previously done. This decision is due to the lower post-pandemic box office results for movies like Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love & Thunder, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which received fan pans.
Major Release Date Changes
The untitled Deadpool movie has moved up and will be released on May 3, 2023, while Captain America: Brave New World has been pushed to July 26, 2024. Thunderbolts will still be released in 2024, but the release date has been moved from July 26 to December 20. Deadpool 3 has been moved up from November 8, 2024, due to a vote of confidence.
Blade, which was initially scheduled for release on September 6, 2024, has been delayed until February 14, 2025, which is a sweet spot for the MCU near Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day. Fantastic Four has also been pushed back from its original release date of February 14 to May 2, 2025.
Avatar 3 has been delayed for a year, from December 20, 2024, to December 19, 2025. This delay has resulted in the other sequels from James Cameron being pushed back. Avatar 4 will now be released on December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 on December 19, 2031.
Star Wars and Other Release Date Changes
The Star Wars movies are still being developed and have been pushed to later dates due to the WGA strike. One of them has been moved from December 19, 2025, to May 22, 2026, and another untitled Star Wars movie has been added on December 18, 2026.
The new live-action Moana movie featuring Dwayne Johnson will now be released on June 27, 2025, a week earlier than its previous release date of July 2.
The new Alien movie, which is currently being shot overseas, will be released on August 16, 2024, taking the Disney RSVP date.
The Rami Malek movie The Amateur, directed by James Hawes, will be released on November 8, 2024, taking the old Deadpool 3 date. The movie follows a CIA cryptographer who demands that his bosses take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. When it becomes clear that they won’t act due to conflicting internal priorities, he blackmails the agency into training him and letting him go after the terrorists himself.
The release date changes made by Disney are primarily due to the WGA strike and production delays. The delay has affected several of their movies, including the MCU titles, Avatar sequels, and Star Wars movies. Disney wants to ensure that their movies are of better quality than before, which is why they have delayed the release of several movies.