Disney Announces Major Changes To Upcoming Blockbuster Line-up
Marvel fans, it’s time to adjust your calendars once again.
Disney has made some changes to its release schedule and much of it is focused on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s slate for 2022 and beyond. While the next two MCU movies “Eternals” and “Spider Man: No Way Home” maintain their theatrical release dates of November 5 and December 17 respectively, the studio is shuffling everything for the next wave of films.
The Sam Raimi directed sequel “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” is moving from its original date of March 25th to the traditional summer kickoff that Marvel has claimed for many years of May 6. Benedict Cumberbatch will reprise his role as the genius doctor in both this and “No Way Home” and the events of that movie will segue into this new adventure.
Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” has moved from that May 6 slot to July 8th. Waititi previously directed the last instalment “Thor: Ragnarok” and sees Chris Hemsworth once again playing the God of Thunder along with the return of Natalie Portman as his lover Jane Foster and the additions of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher and Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista reprising their “Guardians of the Galaxy” characters.
Ryan Coogler’s highly anticipated sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” hits theatres on November 11, 2022. This takes the film away from it’s original July slot to a week after the DC Films release “The Flash”. Whether WB decides to move that film up is yet to be determined.
Plus, “The Marvels” from director Nia DaCosta will move from that original November slot to February 17, 2023, which is the lucrative President’s Day weekend where “Black Panther” began its legendary box office run. The film is a sequel to “Captain Marvel” and sees Brie Larson returning to the role teaming up with Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel fresh from her upcoming Disney+ limited series and Teyonah Parris reprising her “Wandavision” role as Monica Rambeau.
The third instalment of the “Ant-Man” series “Quantumania” will reach the big screen July 28, 2023, a similar release slot its predecessors found great success in. As of now, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is still scheduled for the summer kickoff of May 5, 2023, exactly six years after Vol. 2 premiered.
In non-Marvel news, Disney also pushed back the release date of “Indiana Jones 5”. Previously scheduled for July 29, 2022, the new instalment will now open June 30, 2023 to take advantage of the long Fourth of July weekend. James Mangold takes over for Steven Spielberg as director while Harrison Ford is once again returning as Indy alongside new cast members Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas.
Why the sudden change in release dates… Especially as the box office recovers from the long COVID shutdown? Disney assures their fans, it has more to do with production than anything else, according to Disney insiders. While some films are moving along at a strong pace, others need more time thus causing the current delays. Plus, the MCU’s interconnected timeline has a domino effect on that series and when one film moves, all the others follow suit. With Indiana Jones, it’s more of the same, especially as production had to be suspended because of an injury Ford sustained on set.
Despite these changes, all of these films still remain on track and should no doubt be huge performers at the box office allowing Disney to reclaim its dominance. Whether they live up to the hype is another story.