We’re entering a brave new world where, in a strange way, Marvel is becoming the underdog. Or, at least, the era-defining success of the past decade and a half is no longer guaranteed. So, on the one hand, news of Captain America: Brave New World getting delayed and potentially reshot from top to bottom isn’t an encouraging sign. And yet it might be best for the MCU overall.
Following the resuming of Hollywood productions post-the SAG-AFTRA deal, Marvel has switched up its upcoming slate yet again. Just in front of Thunderbolts shifting from December 2024 to July 2025, Captain America 4 is the worst hit by the delays, as it’s now moving from July 2024 to February 2025. This was surprising to hear as we thought all was dandy on the Brave New World front, thanks to filming wrapping prior to the strikes taking effect.
Unfortunately, further reported intel indicates that this is yet another project Marvel is concerned about and it’s due to go back before camera for some significant reshoots. And I do mean significant. If you believe the chatter, three major scenes will be removed and replaced in a five-month reshoots period happening from January 2024 to May. Clearly, things are not going as smoothly as hoped for the second Sentinel of Liberty’s first solo outing.
However, while this is terrible for Anthony Mackie’s movie, it might actually be exactly what the MCU needs. You see, with Cap 4 pushed in 2025, this means that Marvel Studios is releasing just one movie in 2024, with Deadpool 3 coming in the summer. The last time this happened was in 2020, with Black Widow, but next year’s situation is perhaps the exact opposite of that occasion.
The Marvel drought of 2020 was atrocious for the company as it meant it had to slow down just when it needed to keep up the momentum post-Avengers: Endgame. This time, though, everyone’s suffering from serious MCU indigestion and a bit of a diet from the franchise is surely what the doctor would order. Deadpool 3 looks to be a big event movie, so it should hopefully do its job of keeping the MCU hype alive, but otherwise we — both the audience and the creatives — can take some time to recharge our batteries and come back in 2025 ready to be wowed, and to wow, again.