The Marvels closes out 2023 for Marvel as fans await Deadpool’s MCU debut

Updated: Nov. 10, 2023 – The Marvels has hit theaters closing out Marvel’s 2023 theatrical window in a year when the MCU has taken some hits. The film arrives just as the cinematic universe seems to be in a state of crisis. A recent Variety article outlined various issues, from the poor reaction to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to the controversy around Jonathan Majors, whose Kang was going to be the big villain of Phase 5.

Adding to it has been the double blows of the WGA and SAG strikes across Hollywood that have thrown schedules off and prevented stars from doing promotion for films. That has led to shifts such as an overhaul of writers for the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series.

In The Marvels, Brie Larson reprises her role as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, who teams up with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). The trio has to stop an enemy from staging an attack on Earth while balancing their powers mixing together.

The movie is a big deal, linking the MCU films and TV shows together but fans are also looking to the universe’s future particularly in 2024 as Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool finally joins the party.

The next MCU movies after The Marvels

The Merc with the Mouth’s third film, which will see Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine (bringing his character into the MCU as well), is the first Marvel movie on the slate for next year. Deadpool 3‘s premiere date was set for May 3, 2024. However, production was put off by the SAG strike and now, per Deadline, it’s been pushed to July 26, 2024.

After that is Captain America: Brave New World, with Anthony Mackie returning as Sam Wilson, now fully Captain America. The movie was going to open on May 3 but was pushed to July 26 and now has been taken off the 2024 film calendar all together. Expect this movie to debut on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2025. Yes, that does mean Blade has been pushed as well. It’ll premiere two years from now on Nov. 7.

The final MCU movie for 2024 was going to be Thunderbolts, which mixes various MCU characters into a black-ops squad. It was set for December 20. But the delays with the other films has meant that it, too, will be joining the fray at a far later date. The movie will now bow on July 25, 2025. With the films this far out, do expect these dates to change in the next couple of years.

List at a glance:

• Deadpool 3 – July 26, 2024
• Captain America: Brave New World – Feb. 14, 2025
• Thunderbolts – July 25, 2025
• Blade – Nov. 7, 2025