Disney announced changes to its release calendar affecting the upcoming films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the much-awaited Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel Studios has pushed back its entire upcoming slate for Phases 5 and 6. This means fans must wait up to a year longer to see their favorite characters return to the big screen, including Kang the Conqueror.
The shift in release dates has shocked many MCU fans, as they looked forward to the return of Jonathan Majors' fierce character in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, not only will they have to wait longer to see him wreak havoc in the MCU, but they will also have to hang tight for the introduction of fan-favorite characters into the MCU, including the Fantastic Four and Blade.
The changes in the release calendar include reshuffling all the major upcoming MCU projects. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will now premiere on May 1, 2026, a year after its original release date of May 2, 2025. It will replace Avengers: Secret Wars, which is now scheduled to release on May 7, 2027. Captain America: Brave New World is being moved from May 3, 2024, to July 26, 2024, Thunderbolts is being pushed to December 20, 2024, Blade will now release on February 14, 2025, and Fantastic Four will premiere on May 2, 2025.
Among the Disney slate, the films affected include Deadpool 3, perhaps the only film moved up, from November 8, 2024, to May 3, 2024. This means that fans will be able to see Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine sooner than expected. However, those interested in returning to Pandora must wait much longer, with the upcoming films being pushed back several years. Avatar 3 has shifted to December 19, 2025, Avatar 4 will now release on December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 won’t hit theaters for another eight years, until December 19, 2031. If the dates aren’t altered further, the final Avatar film will be released 22 years after the original 2009 hit project.
Star Wars fans can rejoice knowing that an untitled film is slated to join the franchise on December 18, 2026. This won’t be the only film in the franchise moving forward, as two other Star Wars movies are currently slated for a May 22, 2026, and December 17, 2027 release. It remains unclear at this point what the plot of these films will be and which characters they will focus on. However, this is a silver lining for some fans among the massive delays to other projects.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is scheduled for a theatrical release on May 1, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars is now scheduled to release on May 7, 2027.
Source: Variety