As production delays begin to stack up amid the ongoing WGA strike, fans are becoming increasingly concerned that Marvel Studios 2024 slate will be wiped out. While that’s certainly one possibility at this point, there are plenty of other options that are far rosier. With the content-less 2020 still fresh in fans’ minds, it’s worth taking a look at how the dips and dives of 2023 might help dodge a deserted 2024.
The Original Plan
Just over a year ago, Kevin Feige rolled out a massive slate update at SDCC ’22. That slate included an ambitious 2024 plan that included two Phase Five series (Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Daredevil: Born Again), two Phase Five films (Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts) three untitled Phase Six series and one Phase Six film (Fantastic Four).
Ch-ch-ch-changes
By late September 2022, another Phase Five movie was added when Deadpool 3 was officially announced. Just a month later, Blade was given a September 6, 2024 release date, moving Deadpool 3 to November 8, 2024 and pushing 2024’s Phase Five film total to 4 and sliding Fantastic Four into 2025.. Bob Iger’s return to Disney further altered the 2024 slate as his new mandates concerning the curation of the company’s streaming content shuffled Marvel Studios’ 2023 plans a bit, pushing Agatha: Coven of Chaos firmly out of 2023 and indefinitely delaying the release of Ironheart.
The WGA Strike
The 2023 strike by the Writers Guild of America has put several of the studio’s projects in a state of uncertainty. The first domino to fall was the Mahershala Ali-led Blade project. After having multiple writers and directors leave the project, it seemed Marvel Studios had finally found solid ground on the film when writer Michael Starrbury and director Yann Demange took over creative duties on the project in November 2022. Then, in late April 2023, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolato hopped on board to touch up Starrbury’s script. When the WGA strike began just a few weeks after, it became obvious that Pizzolato’s work wasn’t done and the studio decided to delay production indefinitely.
Though both projects began production ahead of the strike, the New York City production of Daredevil: Born Again had a couple of one-day delays and the Los Angeles production of Wonder Man, which was likely originally intended to end up in 2024 but has never been given a release window, was ultimately suspended indefinitely. Over in the UK, production on Deadpool 3 started up with no reports of any pending delays; however, production on Thunderbolts, which much like Blade had recently brought on a new writer in Lee Sung Jin, was set to kick off in June but was also delayed indefinitely.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to understand that if these projects don’t restart/start production in a reasonable amount of time then they won’t make their 2024 release dates. Could fans be looking at another content-less year in 2024?
Potential New Scenarios
The answer is almost definitely not thanks to streaming. In March, Marvel Studios seemingly accidentally tipped their hand and revealed what looks to be a pretty accurate slate for their LIVE-ACTION series on Disney Plus. Ironheart looks slated to kick off 2024 and there have been no reports that any reshoots or additional photography have been or will be impacted by the strike. It seems most of the work being done on that series is in post-production VFX and it’ll be ready to stream whenever Iger gives it the go-ahead. Principal photography on Agatha: Coven of Chaos should be wrapped by June-ish allowing the show to go into post-production and get ready for a 2024 release. Like every Marvel Studios project, it’s certainly scheduled for a round of reshoots/additional photography and while that likely can’t happen while the strike is ongoing (they would have to have written the reshoots before the strike), they could take place at any time after the strike ends in 2023 or 2024 and still make its way to Disney Plus by mid-2024. Given its nearly year-long shoot, Daredevil: Born Again‘s status is far more tenuous than either of the other two aforementioned projects but so far, so good. It’s also set to be an 18-episode series with recent rumors suggesting it will be broken into two, nine-episode chunks and it’s safe to say that given the shooting schedule, they’ve probably filmed 4 or 5 of those episodes already. While it’s no sure thing, the first nine episodes could be ready to roll for late 2024.
It would seem there is far less certainty surrounding the studio’s 2024 theatrical offerings. Captain America: New World Order has completed a significant chunk of its production and, so far, has not been shut down as a result of the strike; however, reshoots are built-in and as mentioned above will not be done until after the strike. It’s currently set for a May 3, 2024 release, so unless the strike goes on through the end of the year, that date is manageable, though it’s beginning to look like the studio won’t have to hold it.
Even though the delay was just announced, it’s already tough to imagine that Thunderbolts will hit its July 26th, 2024 theatrical release. The strike would likely have to end in the next 4-6 weeks to allow the project to avoid the sort of rushed post-productions that have had Marvel Studios in the spotlight for the last year. Should the strike go on longer than that, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine Captain America: New World Order being moved to July and having Thunderbolts move as well. But where would it land?
That answer might depend on the content of Deadpool 3. Should production on that project go on uninterrupted, it would be reasonable to assume that it would be ready to hit theaters by next July, should Captain America: New World Order be able to make its May 3, 2024 date. Whether or not the plot of Deadpool 3 is reliant on the other projects currently slated to release before it or not is another consideration and one that we can’t answer at present. However, if it can be moved and it does continue production, it could be ready for July or September, stepping in where it once was before Blade moved there.
While there’s no guarantee, Captain America: New World Order and Deadpool 3 are currently the best bets to release in 2024. The statuses of Thunderbolts and Blade, however, are inextricably tied to the timeline of the resolution of the WGA strike. Films that aren’t filmed can’t be released, so it is currently impossible to know when they’ll hit theaters. However, should the strike end by mid-to-late July, it’s possible that both films could still end up in 2024 with one taking the September 6th date and the other taking November 8th. Which one ends up where would simply then become a matter of which one is further along in production.
All that is contingent on Marvel Studios even feeling as though they need to stay on track with their current scheduled dates which is in no way certain because they are hardly the only studio whose slate will be impacted by the strike. Dates could shuffle at any time which is something we just can’t predict but if we assume they keep the four dates, dozens of scenarios unfold with a few that seem more likely than others.
Best Case Scenario
Q1-Ironheart
May 3-Captain America: New World Order
Q2-Agatha: Coven of Chaos
July 26th-Deadpool 3
September 6-Blade/Thunderbolts
Q4-Daredevil: Born Again
November 8-Thunderbolts/Blade
A Scenario That Is Neither Best Case Nor Worse Case
Q1-Ironheart
May 3-Captain America: New World Order
Q2-Agatha: Coven of Chaos
July 26th-Deadpool 3
Q4-Daredevil: Born Again
Not Quite Worst Case Scenario
Q1-Ironheart
July 26-Captain America: New World Order
Q3-Agatha: Coven of Chaos
While the last scenario seems improbable, it’s still on the table. Should the strike stretch out across the summer and into the fall, Marvel Studios will have to greatly rethink their slate. Should the strike end before SDCC ’23, it’s possible that Kevin Feige will stroll on stage with an updated slate; however, given how much things have changed since last year, how seriously should fans even take it?
