Captain America 4's (aka Captain American: Brave New World) Disney+ release will continue a trend started by last year's Deadpool & Wolverine. The Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford-led Marvel Studios epic came to theaters in February, picking up the MCU theatrical baton from 2024's only movie in the super-powered franchise, the Hugh Jackman/Ryan Reynolds R-rated buddy comedy Deadpool 3.
After more than three months since its theatrical release, Marvel Studios confirmed that Captain America: Brave New World will come to Disney+ starting on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
This marks a 104-day gap between the film's big-screen and streaming releases, potentially hinting at the start of a new trend for Marvel Studios projects (picking up on the over-100-day theatrical-to-streaming window standard set by Deadpool & Wolverine).
Last year's Deadpool 3 took 109 days to arrive on Disney+, significantly longer than the normal theatrical-to-Disney+ turnaround seen for most of Disney's other big-screen fare.
To that point, Marvel Studios movies had taken anywhere from 47 to 89 days to arrive on streaming, with that mid-to-late 80s window being around where the brand had settled for MCU films.
See a complete list of recent MCU projects and their theatrical-to-Disney+ gaps below:
- Black Widow – 89 days (Free with Subscription)
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – 70 days
- Eternals – 68 days
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 47 days
- Thor: Love and Thunder – 62 days
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 82 days
- Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – 89 days
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – 89 days
- The Marvels – 89 days
- Deadpool & Wolverine – 109 days
- Captain America: Brave New World – 104 days
Captain America: Brave New World is the latest entry into Marvel Studios star-spangled superhero sub-series, focusing yet again on the titular Captain America as he takes on a new super-powered threat. However, this time around, fans watch on as Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson took on the title role, picking up the shield left for him by Chris Evans' Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame.
Directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane filmmaker Julius Onah, Brave New World followed Mackie's winged superhero as he got caught in the crossfire in an international conflict between Tim Blake Nelson's Samuel Sterns/The Leader and Harrison Ford's President Thaddeus Ross.
Why Did Captain America 4 Take So Long To Come to Disney+?
Many have attributed Deadpool & Wolverine's lengthy theatrical-to-streaming window to the movie's excellent box office performance, but with the reveal of Captain America 4's Disney+ release, that may not have been the case after all.
Brave New World's late May Disney+ release could be the first indication of a new trend emerging at Marvel Studios regarding its theatrical fare.
If box office performance were the primary reason for an MCU movie taking longer than usual to come to Disney+, Captain America would have come to the service several weeks ago. Brave New World notably did not meet expectations financially, earning a middling $400 million worldwide.
This is by no means a runaway success at the ticket window and seemingly disproves the "Deadpool & Wolverine made money, so that is why it took a while to hit Disney+" narrative. What is more likely is that this is just the new normal for Marvel Studios movies coming to the streaming platform.
More will become clear in the coming months as Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four eventually make their streaming debuts. Suppose they also feature these 100+ day windows. In that case, it will indicate that Marvel has changed course across the board for its streaming releases, rather than Deadpool 3 and Captain America 4 being one-off exceptions.
