Marvel Studios recently delayed the release ofThe Marvels, the sequel toCaptain Marvelthat will unite Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) with Monica Rambeau (Teynoah Paris) and Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Velani). The 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was originally set for release on August 26, 2025, but the dayAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas released, it was also announced thatThe Marvelswas being delayed to July 31, 2025.
A movie changing release dates has always been one that causes fans to be concerned because for some it indicates the movie is in trouble. With the recent mixed reaction to many recent MCU releases the fear is only further enhanced. Yet there are a number of factors that have contributed to the release date delay toThe Marvelsthat have more to do with business practices and Hollywood accounting than any other. Here is whyThe Marvelswas delayed and why it might be a good thing.
Disney Needed A Big Holiday Movie
The most obvious reasonThe Marvelswas delayed is that Disney needed a big movie for the holidays that could boost the revenue from their fourth-quarter earnings. Before the release date change, the only film Disney had set for the holidays was the animated movieWishwhichopens on Thanksgiving weekend.
Disney needed another major film for the holidays as without it the quarter 4 earnings in 2023 would see a sharp decline from 2022 which hadBlack Panther: Wakanda ForeverandAvatar: The Way of Water. Moving the sequel to a movie that made $1 billion worldwide to the same weekend thatBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverdid well was an obvious call for Disney.
WithThe Marvelsmoving from July, Disney still has four movies for the summer movie season including Marvel Studios' ownGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Disney live-action remakeThe Little Mermaid, the Pixar filmElemental, andThe Haunted Mansionwhich tookThe MarvelsJuly 28, 2023 release date.The Marvelsbecame the ideal movie to move to the holiday season.
The Marvels Has to Come Out After Secret Invasion
Another factor in the delayed release date was that reportedlyThe Marvelsis set up inSecret Invasion, the Disney+ miniseries which itself is a semi-follow-up toCaptain Marvel. While many expectedSecret Invasionto air early in 2023, and a Super Bowl spot would confirm a release date, no trailer was released, and no release date has been announced.
On top of that recent reports suggest the only two guaranteed MCU Disney+ series set to air in 2023 areLokiseason two andSecret Invasion.Lokiseason two will likely premiere in the summer around June, just as the first season did so well, leavingSecret Invasionto follow after.
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This meansSecret Invasionwould likely air sometime in August or September, which would have come afterThe Marvelsoriginal release date. NowSecret Invasioncan air afterLokiseason two and premiere before the release ofThe Marvelswhich will now open in the winter months.
Oppenheimer Likely Took Many IMAX Screens
The Marvelswas set to open on July 30, 2025, which would have been one week afterBarbieandOppenheimer, both of which would have been competing for somewhat similar audiences toThe Marvels.BarbieandThe Marvelswould both be competing for the young female audience, whileOppenheimerandThe Marvelswould be competing with each other for IMAX screens.
Oppenheimeris being toutedas a must-see IMAX experience, and Universal and Christopher Nolan have likely been pushing for the film to gain a certain amount of exclusivity on IMAX screens. Worth noting is Paramount’sMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1is also set to open on August 10, 2025, and will be taking up some of the IMAX screens as well, soThe Marvelswould be competing with three high-profile movies for different shares of the audience.
The Marvels’newest release date will have it competing withDune: Part Twofor IMAX screens andThe Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfor action audiences, but it appears Disney and Marvel feel more comfortable releasing the film during the holidays, as movies released than tend to have longer legs at the box office.
Less of a Gap Between MCU Films
WhenThe Marvelswas originally set to open in theaters on August 01, 2025, it was supposed to be followed byBladeon July 03, 2025. YetBladewas delayed to August 14, 2025, due to the director departing the project, leaving a ten-month gap betweenThe MarvelsandCaptain America: New World Order. Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, this would have been the longest gap between MCU films since the ten months betweenAnt-ManandCaptain America: Civil War.
Related:MCU: Why Brie Larson and Captain Marvel Didn’t Deserve the Hate They Received
The new release date now leaves a six-month gap betweenGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andThe Marvelsand a six-month gap between it andCaptain America: New World Order. This gap is good, as it allows some breathing room between MCU films which have been released at a much more frequent pattern close together in recent months, but not too long of a time to forget the narrative. Now there is more space between the various projects that allow the audience to actually begin to miss an MCU entry but not long enough for the franchise to lose its forward momentum.
Marvel Is Pumping the Breaks on Its Output
Shortly before the release ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said theMCU was slowing down developmenton some projects. This news came shortly afterBob Iger returnedas CEO of the Walt Disney Company replacing his successor Bob Chapek. Chapek was a controversial figure at Disney and was criticized for prioritizing quantity of quality, specifically how he put so much emphasis on Disney+ and needed material for the streaming service. Chapek’s appointment to CEO coincided with the beginning of Phase 4 which saw an increase in releases.
Phase 4 had seven films in just two years, in contrast to the six films in Phase 2 over three years and the eleven films of Phase 3 which spanned four years. In addition, Phase 4 had eight television series and two specials meaning in just two years the MCU had seventeen entries. There was more MCU than ever before and while that should have left many fans happy, there was a general feeling of disappointment around Phase 4. Numerous projects led toVFX artists being overworked and underpaid, which resulted in some questionable CGI in entries; there was a feeling that there was just too much material to catch up on.
Series likeEchoandIronheart,which were rumored to air in 2023 on Disney+, are now no longer a sure thing for the year andmight be delayed until 2024, which could result in delays forHarkness: Coven of ChaosandDaredevil: Born Again. While it is apparent Marvel Studios' creative team did care about making the best film and television series possible, with so many projects in development, it was difficult to truly give each one the time it needed.
With less work, each individual project can receive the care it needs and now that meansThe Marvelswill get more time to perfect itself. Marvel Studios, along with all of Disney, has had a rough time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and change in leadership but hopefully, this is the beginning of them finding their footing once more.
