Marvel Studios will have a historic release day in November involving two highly-anticipated projects.
In the post-Infinity Saga world, Marvel Studios' content output has increased massively as it added multiple Disney+ shows a year on top of its existing theatrical roster of around three movies annually.
This has led to increased debate over superhero fatigue as the MCU starts to overextend itself, so much so Marvel Studios is reportedly even reducing its content output to better manage its packed slate.
Marvel Announces Massive Double Release Day for November
Leading up to the conclusion of Loki Season 2, Marvel Studios confirmed a historic release day for this November as the season finale will drop on the same day in the U.S. as the MCU's next movie, The Marvels.
With the Season 2 finale now announced to drop on Thursday, November 9 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, the episode will go live on Disney+ around the same time the Thursday night previews are getting underway for the Captain Marvel sequel.
Marvel Studios has had cases before in which new theatrical movies have debuted in the same week as fresh Disney+ episodes. But as Loki Season 2 is the first time the studio has shifted its streaming schedule to Thursdays, November 9 will mark a historic day for the MCU as The Marvels and the finale go head-to-head.
The first came in July 2021, also with Loki as the third episode premiered on Wednesday, July 7, two days before Black Widow came onto Disney+ Premier Access as a paid online release during the pandemic on Friday, July 9.
The pattern was even repeated just two months later with the next movie and show, as What If...?'s Doctor Strange Supreme episode came to Disney+ on September 1 before Shang-Chi's September 2 previews.
In the 2021 holiday season, Spider-Man: No Way Home held its Thursday night previews on December 16, just one day after Hawkeye's fifth and penultimate episode premiered on December 15. The timing even sparked theories the two projects may be set for a crossover, although those never paid off.
Moving into 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' May 5 previews clashed with the Wednesday, May 4 release for the Moon Knight finale, both of which were some of the MCU's most anticipated releases of the year.
Most recently, Ms. Marvel released its fifth episode on June 6, 2022, followed by the Thursday previews for Thor: Love and Thunder on June 7, 2022.
That wasn't the only overlap with a major project that Ms. Marvel had to overcome however, as the MCU series dropped new episodes on the same day as Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi for three weeks in a row.
Will Loki & The Marvels' Release Clash Hurt Either?
As the MCU has notably reduced its Disney+ output from five shows released in 2021 to just two (possibly three), cases of these premiere clashes have become far less common in Phase 5 than before.
Whether these release clashes actually hurt MCU release days is tough to tell, but it certainly divides the fanbase and online conversation, especially given the colliding Loki episode in question will be the finale.
The hardcore fans who are generally more likely to turn out for The Marvels' Thursday previews will undoubtedly be the same ones staying up waiting for the Loki finale to drop on Disney+ to watch it right away.
So while the clash may have a small impact on The Marvels' preview results, it probably won't have any major impact on either the box office or the Loki finale's viewership figures over its release weekend.
It will be intriguing to see how the overlapping releases will impact conversations on social media, as both Captain Marvel 2 and the Loki finale are bound to leave plenty to talk about and possibly even lasting consequences for the MCU.
It's unclear exactly when the next of these clashes could happen, as the MCU's next movie will come in May's Deadpool 3 - which will likely be delayed - to be followed by Captain America: New World Order in July.
The only MCU shows likely to premiere in the summer following recent delays are Ironheart and X-Men '97. Either of these could possibly battle with whatever movies may be released in the summer, although fans won't know for a while.
The Marvels hits theaters on Friday, November 10, while Loki returns to Disney+ on Thursday, October 5 at 9 p.m. ET.
