Marvel Studios has changed its Phase 4 release slate once again, this time as The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania switch places on the schedule. Marvel Studios officially unveiled its plans for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019 after the release of Avengers: Endgame. While it included new franchise starters, Captain Marvel 2 and Ant-Man 3 were also confirmed to be part of the plan eventually. The two movies were originally announced to be coming out in 2022, but that was well before Marvel Studios had to repeatedly change its release slate due to Covid-19.
It has been quite some time since the MCU has had to deal with changing its release order as a result of theaters being closed or production issues. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is finally coming out next week to kick off a three-film year for Marvel Studios before they return to four movies in 2023. The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are two of the confirmed titles set to come out next year, marking the long-awaited returns of popular characters like Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).
Now, Marvel Studios has announced, via Deadline, that The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have swapped release dates. Captain Marvel 2 is now slated for July 28, 2023, while Ant-Man 3 moves up five months to The Marvels' old release date of February 17, 2023. At this point, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has kept its May 5, 2023 release date. Both The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have already wrapped filming.
There has yet to be a reason given for why Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now coming out earlier and The Marvels is coming out later, but it could be due to Captain Marvel 2 needing more time in post-production. While Ant-Man 3 did some filming with The Mandalorian's Stagecraft technology, The Marvels is not confirmed to have done the same and might require additional time to finish the numerous VFX shots it includes. There's also the potential that Captain Marvel 2 still needs to do some reshoots but the schedule is now in flux due to Brie Larson's involvement in Fast X.
As far as release date changes go for the MCU, this isn't too drastic or much of anything for fans to worry about. One other potential explanation for this change is Ant-Man 3's use of Kang the Conqueror. Jonathan Majors is expected to reprise his role as the multiverse villain in Loki season 2 as well. Since Loki season 2 is filming this summer, it could be ready for an early summer 2023 release. Moving Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania up several months clears the MCU from having to potentially hold off continuing Kang's story until the fall of 2023. Meanwhile, this does negate the theories that The Marvels could set up some cosmic events in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. -Collider
