Blade Causes a Marvel Release Date Shuffle
Marvel is reshuffling some of its release dates again. The Hollywood Reporter first exclusively revealed that Blade would be put on hold while Marvel searched for a director to replace Bassam Tariq, who’d left the film, with the pre-production shutting down and filming being delayed from next month. Later, THR published a follow-up revealing that Blade’s release date has been moved from November 3, 2023, to September 6, 2024.
Blade’s shift has created a ripple effect that moves around some other Marvel films too. Deadpool 3, which previously held the September 6, 2024, release date, will now hit theaters two months later, on November 8, 2024. In turn, the former November 8, 2024 release, Fantastic Four, has been moved to February 14, 2025.
Avengers: Secret Wars will also move back, from November 7, 2025, to May 1, 2026, although Avengers: The Kang Dynasty remains locked in on May 2, 2025. Outside of Marvel, other Disney release date reveals include Chevalier (April 7, 2023), A Haunting in Venice (September 15, 2023), and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 24, 2024).
It’s kind of funny watching Marvel have to be flexible with its release date given the importance it places on them; all or most of these movies had one before they had a director. But sooner or later, even they have to acknowledge reality, and based on what’s been reported so far, Blade isn’t nearly ready to begin filming, even outside its empty director’s chair. Not that I’m particularly hopeful this will happen, but if more things start to fall apart – like the supposedly unhappy Mahershala Ali leaves – I’d love for them to do what Midnight’s Edge suggested and revamp it with Wesley Snipes back in the lead. As for the others, there doesn’t seem to be much to read into Fantastic Four or Deadpool 3 moving; they’re just moving stuff around out of necessity, although I’ll bet anyone at Marvel who cares about the quality of these films is probably glad that FF gets some more time for development.
The same must be true for Secret Wars, which doesn’t have a director yet. That one is a bit more interesting because, while it’s being folded into this shift, its release isn’t affected by Blade, especially as The Kang Dynasty is holding its weekend. I think they need more time for this one and are taking advantage of the shuffle to make it look like less of a big deal than it is. That leads me to believe that the report of Chris Evans returning for Secret Wars could be accurate, and they’re going to try to get some more major Avengers back to make people more excited than the Not Ready For Prime Time Players will. It’s also a good idea to give people some more time to digest The Kang Dynasty before dropping Secret Wars on them. Like Infinity War and Endgame, the next one-two Avengers punch will have a year between hits, and that’s better than shoving them both into the same year. If they want to avoid superhero fatigue, they need to let people catch their breath now and then. (Making better movies would help too, but I’m trying to temper my expectations.)
Is Blade’s delay a surprise to you? Are you glad they’re pushing back Secret Wars? Will Ryan Reynolds make a video about him and Hugh Jackman postponing their “date”? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more on the pitfalls of planning art around a calendar!
