Disney pushes back several Marvel movie release dates

Walt Disney Co announced on Tuesday it will be pushing back the release dates for numerous upcoming Marvel films including, 'Blade', 'Fantastic Four' and 'Avengers: Secret Wars'.

Following Blade director Bassam Tariq's departure from the project in September due to scheduling conflicts, Marvel has decided to temporarily shut down production of the film to search for a new director. Blade is now slated to premiere on 6 September, 2024 instead of 3 November, 2023, which has impacted the rest of the studios' production scheduling.

'Deadpool 3' has moved from 6 September, 2024, to 8 November, 2024; Fantastic Four has been shifted from 8 November, 2024, to 14 February, 2025; an untitled Marvel project was moved from 14 February, 2025, to 7 November, 2025; Avengers: Secret Wars has been pushed from 7 November, 2025, to 1 May, 2026; and an untitled Marvel movie went from 1 May, 2026 to no longer being on Disney's release schedule.

A source familiar with the studio's plans told Reuters that Marvel is using the Blade production break to find a replacement for Tariq to work with 'Moon Knight' writer Beau DeMayo, who's the main screenwriter for Blade.

An unnamed source with authority on the film starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali told The Hollywood Reporter that "They want to get it right," which subsequently means delays.

The Marvel Blade character who first appeared in comic book 'The Tomb of Dracula', written by Marv Wolfman in 1973 eventually had his own storyline that was later adapted into the Wesley Snipes film trilogy which includes Blade, Blade II and Blade Trinity.

Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, stories have been intertwined and a significant delay from one film often impacts the slate for others. A similar postponement was made for the film 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' due to the pandemic and led to 'Thor: Love and Thunder' and 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' being pushed back as well.