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As Ant-Man: Quantumania hits theaters, Captain Marvel has switched with Haunted Mansion. Here’s when the MCU flick will hit the big screen.
You’ll have to wait a little longer to see Brie Larson back in her Captain Marvel outfit.
If you thought we were past the days of big blockbuster release dates being delayed, think again. On the day that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters around the world (to a muted reception from critics), Disney has delayed forthcoming Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels.
The Marvels, directed by Nia DaCosta and starring Brie Larson, is now scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 10, 2023. It was previously on the calendar for July 28.
Disney has swapped The Marvels with theme park-inspired movie Haunted Mansion, which was due to come out in August but will now take the July slot.
Disney gave no indication of whether The Marvels needs more time to be completed, or whether the company is deliberately spacing out superhero releases after the mixed reaction to Quantumania. Alternatively, given Captain Marvel’s entanglement with Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury and the shape-changing Skrulls, the film’s delay could have something to do with the release date for Disney Plus TV series Secret Invasion, which features Fury fighting a conspiracy of Skrull infiltrators.
Following Ant-Man 3’s theatrical debut this weekend, the next Marvel movie will be Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, in May. The Marvels continues to be the furthest-out confirmed MCU theatrical release, as there’s no date yet for planned films starring Blade, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four and others. The move could, however, create some space in the calendar for Disney Plus shows such as Loki season 2, Echo or Ironheart (not to mention a Disney Plus streaming release for Quantumania).
Funnily enough, this is the second time Disney has pulled a switcheroo with Captain Marvel. The Marvels was originally going to come out today, but Disney swapped it with Quantumania.
Big studios like Disney can simply bump their films into slots they’ve already earmarked for their next movie (Paramount, for example, moved Top Gun: Maverick into the date set for Mission: Impossible 7, with box-office-smashing results), but the interconnected storylines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe mean MCU flicks often have to be released in a specific order to set up the next film or TV series. Check out the post-credits scene of Quantumania for an example of a link between the movie and a certain Disney Plus TV show.
The Marvels will star Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, from the Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel, alongside Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. Marvel boss Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly this week that Kamala “essentially steals” the film, in an interview that gave no hint of a possible delay.
Haunted Mansion stars Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito, Lakeith Stanfield, Winona Ryder, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tiffany Haddish and Jared Leto.
