Why Marvel Just Delayed 5 Phase 4 Movies (Again)

Marvel Studios has just delayed five MCU movies - again. Marvel Studios has rightly developed a reputation for playing the long game, but their Phase 4 slate has been in flux for quite some time. The first problem came when James Gunn was fired (and subsequently re-hired) by Disney after tasteless jokes he'd shared on social media years ago resurfaced; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was originally supposed to launch the entire Phase 4 slate, and it was teased as "the beginning of a whole other element of the Marvel Cosmic universe," meaning Marvel had to adjust plans significantly due to that film's delay. Then, in 2019, Marvel's Spider-Man deal with Sony almost fell through as well, risking Spider-Man's MCU future.

But, of course, the greatest problem Marvel has faced was the coronavirus pandemic. This essentially shut down the entire film and TV industry for months. It wasn't just that theaters were closed, forcing studios to pursue hybrid releases or push films back, but production was also dramatically affected. Marvel wound up skipping 2020 entirely, although the MCU is back in style in 2021, with high-performing blockbusters such as Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings accompanied by a range of popular MCU TV shows on Disney+.

Viewers could have been forgiven for assuming the delays were over, but Marvel Studios has unexpectedly announced another raft of changes to their upcoming slate. This time the issue doesn't appear to be coronavirus-related, but it nevertheless means things are in flux once more.

Marvel's New Phase 4 Release Date Changes Explained

There was a time when Marvel Studios released only one or two movies a year, but the studio has now shifted to four or even five. Ironically, this means the MCU Phase 4 slate is a lot more vulnerable than before, because any one change has a ripple effect - it affects the rest of the slate. As a result, Marvel's latest MCU delays have affected no less than five release dates.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has moved from March 25, 2022 to May 6, 2022.
Thor: Love & Thunder was originally supposed to come out on May 6, and has moved to July 8, 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been pushed from July to November 11, 2022.
Captain Marvel 2 has moved from November 2022 to February 17, 2023.
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania has been pushed back from February 2023 to July 28, 2023.
An untitled Marvel project scheduled for November 10, 2023, has moved to November 3, 2023.
Looking beyond July 2023, a number of untitled MCU projects have also been moved. Whatever was originally supposed to come out on July 28, 2023, has been dropped from the schedule for now, as has another project originally scheduled for October 6, 2023.

This has a dramatic effect on the MCU's slate, and it means 2022 will only have three MCU blockbusters. Curiously, Marvel hasn't pushed back Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which has a release date of May 5, 2023. It's quite possible this will change, however, because the front half of 2023 feels a little packed with Marvel content.

Why Marvel Has Just Delayed So Many Phase 4 Movies

Carol Danvers in her Captain Marvel suit in the desert

No doubt there'll be intense speculation that Marvel's latest moves are again coronavirus-related, with the studio positioning releases where they hope they will perform best in the box office. That seems unlikely, however, given the box office performance of Shang-Chi and current projections for Eternals, which look remarkably strong. Rather, according to Variety, sources at Disney claim the delays are related to production and not box office returns; they point out that Black Panther 2, as an example, is still filming in Atlanta. Deadline has gone further, claiming there's a domino-effect problem with production and film-makers. "Some titles are contending with finishing scenarios while others are in production," they explain. "This is how Disney is solving it, and when you come to think of it, most of the dates were already reserved by the studio for Marvel fare; they’re just moving titles from one slot to the next."

Even this explanation seems questionable, however, given the whole chain of dominos seems to begin with Doctor Strange 2, which has already wrapped and is in post-production. Still, it's worth noting that even VFX houses can encounter unexpected problems; a Gamora episode was dropped from Marvel's What If...? because the animation house working on it was affected by coronavirus. It's possible something similar has happened here, fitting with Deadline's reference to "finishing scenarios."

What Marvel's Phase 4 Delays Mean For The Box Office

The box office is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, and it's become clear major Marvel blockbusters will be central to that recovery. That means theaters will undoubtedly be disappointed at the delays, which mean the first MCU movie to come out in 2023 - Doctor Strange 2 - will release two months later. Still, ironically that may not be an issue, simply because the "Distinguished Competition" - Marvel's rival superhero film studio, DC Films - is releasing The Batman in March anyway. The Dark Knight should be able to reign supreme in March, rather than face the challenge of the Sorcerer Supreme. Some fans will be disappointed - everybody loves a good superhero versus match - but this may mean theaters have more reliable income over the course of the year.

What Marvel's Release Delays Mean For Phase 4 & Beyond

The more interesting question, though, is what these delays will mean for the MCU's Phase 4 and beyond. The last year has seen the MCU become a transmedia multiverse, with the launch of a range of tie-in TV shows that stream on Disney+; they've been a huge success for Disney's streaming service, helping it grow at an unprecedented rate. Unlike previous Marvel TV series, these ones tie directly in to the movies; characters transition from one medium to another, with WandaVision and Loki both setting up Doctor Strange 2, and The Falcon & the Winter Soldier establishing Sam Wilson as the new Captain America ahead of Captain America 4.

This transmedia approach is clearly working, but it actually means the MCU is now more vulnerable to disruption than ever before. If characters and arcs transition between mediums, then a change in film release dates has a potential impact on the TV shows as well. So far, Marvel's managed to balance everything, with only minor issues - the introduction of a potential villain named the Contessa in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier, who was actually intended to make her MCU debut in Black Widow. Fortunately, at the moment it looks as though all the Disney+ TV shows related to the affected movies served as setup rather than spinoffs, meaning the impact should be controllable; there have been rumors Ms. Marvel has been pushed back, for example, which would make sense if Disney don't want it to be too far away from Captain Marvel 2. But if there are secret spinoffs and second seasons in the works, they may well be pushed back a little. It's likely the full impact of these delays will never be revealed, because Marvel prefer to be as secretive about their long-term plans as possible.

As noted, the MCU's Phase 4 has been in something of a state of flux from the beginning. It's generally been easy to track the changes, to understand the reasons for them and evaluate their impacts. This, however, is Marvel's most mysterious change to date, with a nebulous explanation of "production issues." Hopefully it won't be long before some more detailed explanations emerge, and MCU viewers can understand why Marvel's made these latest delays.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie