Marvel Studios has once again mapped out their projects years in advance. Even with the pandemic shifting everything by one year, we still have plenty to look forward to. During Disney’s Investors Day, we got a good look at the future of this franchise. They announced various films and Disney+ shows. Alongside them, we also got some release dates, such as Black Panther and Captain Marvel 2 eyeing a 2022 release. Now, the interesting thing to note is that these films will release in July and November respectively. At one point, a comment by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania director, Peyton Reed, hinted at it also eyeing a potential 2022 release date.
Yet, once the Investor’s Day rolled around, that seemed to have changed. The curious placement of Blade between the previously-mentioned titles points to it releasing in 2022. Keep in mind that it still has no official release date just yet. Helping that fact is that casting has already started for the film, as revealed a few days ago. There was always the risk of delays due to the pandemic. Even Black Widow‘s one-year delay may potentially get pushed back once again. Still, it would hint at 2022 consisting of five films, which will be kicked off in March with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Charles Murphy also had a similar prediction for 2022 based on similar information. Anything beyond that release date remained speculation.
Well, it looks like the site Cines Argentinos, who has been reliable in the past, may have accidentally unveiled the release date for the threequel. They have set the third entry in the Ant-Man franchise for February 16th in 2023. It makes sense with its placement in the fact sheet after Captain Marvel 2, which was already releasing as the potential fifth film in 2022. There is also the production that would line-up with this release date, as according to Evangeline Lilly, it will not enter production until the summer of this year. Film productions might try to plan in as much time as possible, especially as we’re still seeing temporary shutdowns due to the pandemic.
This leak connected with the fact sheet makes it a bit easier to predict when they might release. The release order according to the fact sheet would place the long-awaited threequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, in their usual May release slot. It is the only film confirmed for a 2023 release. Following it, Jon Watt‘s Fantastic Four would take one of the other 2023 release dates. 2023 has release dates slated in July and November, so it depends on how fast Marvel Studiospulls things together. Marvel Studios has been releasing information in smaller chunks rather than the entire phase in one go, as they did back in the day with Phase 3. So, we might get some official confirmations by the end of the year during the next Disney Investor’s Day for their 2023 line-up.
Source: Walt Disney, Investor’s Day Fact Sheet, Collider, Slash Film, The Hollywood Reporter, Cines Argentinos, NME
