Marvel Studios delayed the entirety of its remaining Phase 5 slate, offering up new release dates to four upcoming super-powered blockbusters.
Kicking off back in February 2023 with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Phase 5 of the MCU was initially set to run through the end of the upcoming Thunderbolts film, including titles like Blade, Deadpool 3, and Captain America: Brave New World.
However, things look a little different now. Thanks to dualling strikes in Hollywood amongst the writing and acting guilds (both of which have now been resolved), the red brand has had to reshuffle its lineup yet again as the entertainment industry was forced to hit pause for more than three months.
So, with delays hitting Phase 5, here are all the new release dates for every movie affected:
New MCU Phase 5 Release Dates
Deadpool 3
Easily the biggest question mark for the MCU during this year's job action in Hollywood was if Deadpool 3 would stick to its May 2024 release date. Initially set to hit theaters on May 3, 2024, the R-rated comedy has been bumped two months and will now be released on July 26, 2024.
The Ryan Reynolds-led blockbuster was in the midst of filming when it was shut down because of the actors' strike. So, production will resume as soon as possible as Marvel Studios races to make that new July date. According to director Shawn Levy, they are "halfway through filming," so there is still plenty of work to be done for the super-powered threequel.
Captain America: Brave New World
Another MCU movie that was mid-production before having to hit the pause button until SAG job action came to an end was Captain America: Brave New World. Anthony Mackie's big-screen debut as Marvel's Star-Spangled Man was previously going to come to theaters on July 26, 2024; however, (as mentioned above) Deadpool 3 now occupies that spot.
This has meant Captain America 4 has been moved down the slate, coming to theaters on February 14, 2025. Brave New World had wrapped filming when Hollywood shut down in mid-July, leading some to believe the movie had a chance of actually moving up the Marvel slate.
But that is not the case, as the movie is rumored to undergo extensive reshoots like so many MCU films do (via Jeff Sneider).
Thunderbolts
While once planned as the end-cap to Phase 5 of the MCU, Thunderbolts now will be the second-to-last movie in this particular sect of the Marvel Studios story.
This super-powered band of "losers" - led by Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Red Guardian, and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes - previously were supposed to grace the silver screen starting on December 20, 2024, and will now release more than six months later on July 25, 2025.
Marvel had set this past summer aside to film Thunderbolts, but because of the actors' and writers' strikes was not allowed to move forward, causing such a big delay. The movie will now likely be filmed in the spring or summer of 2024, as Marvel Studios clears the chamber of some of its other movies that were unfinished when the strikes commenced.
Blade
The movie that was first announced of this bunch, and (now) the one that will come out the latest is Mahershala Ali's Blade. The vampire-slaying has suffered several delays over the past couple of years, with this latest moving it from February 14, 2025, to November 7, 2025. This delay comes after months of production troubles plaguing the MCU Blade reboot.
It was recently written the film is in the midst of an extensive rewrite, coming nearly a year after the movie underwent a directing change mid-development. With concerns starting to mount about Ali's satisfaction with the overall state of Blade, hopefully, this delay is the best thing that could happen for the project, as Marvel Studios aims to get things right.
The latest entry into MCU Phase 5, The Marvels can be seen in theaters now.
