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Marvel Could Have FIVE Movies In 2022
In light of the latest Marvel schedule reshuffle, fans may be looking to get five MCU films in 2022. The coronavirus pandemic has left Hollywood in an essential standstill. As the world grapples against the health crisis, multiple blockbusters have been delayed significantly as part of the industry's precautions; with filming for both small and big screen projects being indefinitely suspended. One of the most affected franchise is Marvel Studios', which has its whole Phase 4 slate and some beyond all laid out at last year's San Diego Comic-Con.
Earlier this month, Marvel Studios already adjusted their slate in accordance to the delays brought about by the coronavirus. Instead of kicking off Phase 4 next month with Black Widow, it pushed the Cate Shortland and Scarlett Johansson film to November. This caused a domino effect that delayed their succeeding films in varying degrees. Now, they make additional changes to their schedule after Sony also pushed back the release of the untitled Spider-Man 3 film from July to November 5, 2021. Based on the current timetable, Thor: Love and Thunder is rolling out a week early on February 11, 2022, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gets further pushed back from November 5, 2021 to March 25, 2022.
As it is, Marvel Studios may be looking to release five films in 2022. Thor: Love and Thunder and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness roll out in the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, before any rescheduling took place, Black Panther 2 and Captain Marvel 2 were already given May 6 and July 8, 2022 release dates respectively. The fifth movie comes in much later in the year with Marvel Studios also claiming October 7 for a mystery project. Rumor has it that it could be for the much-anticipated Blade relaunch, starring Mahershala Ali as the titular character.
For context, Marvel Studios started with two films per year, then ramped it up in 2017 when it released 3 projects for the first time, which has been the case ever since. After wrapping up the Infinity Saga, the MCU was going to slow things down in 2021 with only two movies (Black Widow and Eternals), but was going to double that next year to four (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man 3, and Thor: Love and Thunder). Considering that Marvel Studios intentionally increased its movie output for 2022, it's safe to assume that the executives are confident the studio will meet the deadlines; however, it's unknown if the MCU is ready to take it up a notch with five movies in one year.
Marvel Studios has yet to make any comments about the potential delays past Phase 4, which now ends in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That means that Black Panther 2 and Captain Marvel 2 can still be moved depending on how things shake out with regard to production schedules for the preceding MCU movies. Given the current timetable state, the MCU can maintain the dates for those movies. The studio typically releases two movies during the proper summer blockbuster season anyway, with last year's Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home taking those schedules. The question is if Marvel Studios will vacate that October date and push it to a February 2023 release instead just to give the public some breathing room.
Aside from Marvel's big screen projects, it is also expanding the MCU with a string of TV shows for Disney+, which means more work for Kevin Feige and his team. The MCU has yet to make some changes regarding the release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, which are supposedly debuting on the streaming platform in August and December respectively. Both shows are currently at the tail end of their production when filming was indefinitely shut for Coronavirus precautionary measures.
