Most changes to Marvel’s release slate spell bad news. Earlier this month, for instance, the studio pushed back their entire Phase 4 line-up due to the current pandemic delaying Black Widow, thereby throwing their whole schedule for a loop. The bad news has continued today, too, with a couple of movies getting additional delays. That said, there is one piece of good news amongst the bad that we shouldn’t overlook. Thor: Love and Thunder has been brought forward…by a full week.
As per Marvel’s big Phase 4 announcement at last summer’s SDCC, Thor 4 was supposed to land on November 5th, 2021, matching the release date that proved highly successful for its forebear, Thor: Ragnarok. However, the revamped slate issued in early April moved it to February 18th, 2022. A three-month extra wait wasn’t the worst push-back of the lot, so fans were able to live with this. We can actually shave seven days off that wait, though, as it’s now locked in to arrive on February 11th of that year instead.
Love and Thunder is one of a trio of MCU films shifting around the schedule today. First, Sony revealed Spider-Man 3 won’t be making its July 2021 slot and so is instead going to drop on November 5th, where LAT was once situated. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had previously taken its place, however, so that’s now been pushed back four months more and is coming in March 2022.
The additional delay to Doctor Strange 2 is a big blow, so Thor 4’s slight bump-up comes as a small consolation prize. This is probably one of the most highly anticipated of the Phase 4 slate, after all, as Taika Waititi did such a good job with Ragnarok. LAT is expected to continue in much the same vein, too, only with the added awesomeness of Natalie Portman returning as Jane Foster, this time becoming Thor herself.
Of course, things could change again, but as of now, Thor: Love and Thunder is due on February 11th, 2022. And we can hardly wait.
