Summer tentpole Deadpool 3 will swim into theaters a bit later than originally anticipated as part of a slate shift for Marvel Studios. Disney announced late Wednesday that the high-profile threequel will now open at the domestic box office on July 26, 2024, instead of May 3, 2024.
Captain America: New World Order, which previously held that July date, has been moved nine months to Feb. 14, 2025.
In other moves, Marvel’s anti-hero centric movie Thunderbolts, starring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, has moved to July 25, 2025 (pushed back from Dec. 20, 2024). Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, has been delayed nine months, moving to Nov. 7, 2025 (back from Feb. 14, 2025). Both Blade and Thunderbolts were planning on going into production this summer, but did not have scripts that were ready in time, so they shut down amid the writers strike in May.
At this stage, Marvel now just has one film on the 2024 calendar (Deadpool), which could help the film feel special in an era in which some superhero projects have been challenged at the box office. Marvel has four features in 2024 (including Fantastic Four, previously set for May 5, 2024).
In non-Marvel changes, Disney pushed Mufasa: The Lion King to Dec. 20, 2024 (back from July 5, 2024). Barry Jenkins directs the prequel.
Deadpool 3 — returning Ryan Reynolds in the titular role and producer’s chair — was among a number of Hollywood productions that had to halt shooting when the actors went on strike in July.
Marvel and the Deadpool team, which also includes director Shawn Levy and co-star Hugh Jackman, sprung into action Tuesday night after SAG announced it has reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios to end the strike, which lasted a grueling 117 days. Insiders say the plan is for Levy to resume shooting in London in the next two weeks (Marvel and Disney paid to keep the sets intact, while a crew is standing by).
The filmmakers are intent on opening the film in summer, which is prime time for superhero fare, and will need all the extra time they can get to complete filming the second half of the movie. Levy and Reynolds used the downtime during the strike to edit what they had shot, as well as begin special-effects work, according to sources.
Captain America: New World Order, starring Anthony Mackie as Captain America/Sam Wilson, completed principal photography prior to the strikes, so the move to a later date was not anticipated, as many believed it would shift to May 2024.
All of the Hollywood studios are racing to rearrange their release schedules now that the strike has ended. Within hours of the deal being announced, for instance, Sony pushed back the release of Venom 3 from July 12, 2024, to Nov. 8, 2024, in order to provide more of a cushion.
Dozens of other titles have already shifted their release dates because of the actors strike — and the preceding writers strike, which ended in late September — and more are certain to follow. In recent weeks, Disney delayed 2024 spring tentpoles Snow White and Elio by a year or more, while Paramount pushed back the release of the next Mission: Impossible installment from summer 2024 to 2025 and A Quiet Place: Day One by several months from spring to June 2024.
As for Reynolds, in his first post-strike tweet, the actor assured fans that the film would be ready for the summer by sharing a photo of Dogpool, a doggy version of Deadpool who appears in the movie. “Did Dogpool save the day? Not a chance in gremlin hell,” Reynolds captioned the photo. “But she IS currently causing the Disney plushy merch department nightmares. Coming with the movie, Summer 2024.”
