From 2008’s it’s Kevin Feige.
Over the years, Feige has shuffled the MCU’s release schedule around to give his directors more time to work on their movies, or even canceled entire projects. So, here are 10 times that the MCU’s release slate changed from the original plans.
Black Panther Got Pushed Back From 2017 To 2018
After T’Challa was introduced into the MCU in Black Panther was eventually bumped back to February 16, 2018.
In its new release date, Black Panther became a cultural phenomenon and one of the biggest box office hits of all time. But if it had been released a few months earlier, it surely would’ve been just as successful.
Two Spider-Man Movies Got Added To Phase Three
When the MCU’s Phase Three was first announced in 2014, there were no Sony still had hope for Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man series, and negotiations about including Spidey in Captain America: Civil War were ongoing.
After Marvel worked out its negotiations with Sony, Phase Three ended up having two Spider-Man movies: Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Thor Got Pushed Back From 2010 To 2011
The first Iron Man 2. However, the release date was eventually bumped back to June 17, 2011, and then later bumped up to May 20, 2011.
The first Captain America movie, which was originally titled The First Avenger: Captain America, then had to be moved from May 6 to July 22. In the end, Iron Man 2 was the MCU’s only 2010 release.
The Inhumans Movie Got Canceled
The MCU originally had a movie about the Inhumans slated to be released on November 2, 2018, about midway between the eventual release dates of Infinity War and Endgame.
However, this movie ended up getting called off and retooled as a TV series. The TV series only ran for eight episodes on ABC before also being canceled — but its pilot episode did get a theatrical release.
Thor: Ragnarok Got Pushed Back From July 2017 To November 2017
When Thor: Ragnarok was initially announced, it was given a release date of July 28, 2017. However, it was later pushed back to November 3. The film changed a lot from its announcement to its final form.
The logo that was shown when the movie was announced confirms rumors that it was originally planned to be darker and grittier than the previous two Thor films. When Taika Waititi took over, he went the other way and made it brighter and zanier than its predecessors.
Ant-Man And The Wasp Got Added To Phase Three
The MCU’s Phase Three slate changed a lot over the years — particularly in of which movie would follow up Avengers: Infinity War. It ended up being followed by Ant-Man movie.
When it was first announced in 2014, the first Ant-Man movie hadn’t been released yet, so Marvel couldn’t yet commit to a sequel.
The Avengers Got Pushed Back From 2011 To 2012
Joss Whedon’s it was a make-or-break moment for the MCU.
The film was first slated to hit theaters on July 15, 2011, but it was later pushed back to May 4, 2012. Assembling the Avengers more gradually paid off for Marvel in the end.
The Runaways Movie Got Called Off
In the early days of the MCU, back in 2008 before Iron Man had even been released, Kevin Feige tapped Brian K. Vaughan to write a Runaways movie. The original plan was to release it in 2011, alongside Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Drew Pearce, who ended up co-writing Iron Man 3 with Shane Black, was brought on to rewrite Vaughan’s script in 2010. Eventually, the movie was called off and turned into a TV series that ran for three seasons on Hulu.
Captain Marvel Got Pushed Back From 2018 To 2019
The original release date for Captain Marvel was July 6, 2018, but it got pushed back to March 8, 2019. In its original slot, the movie would’ve paid off Nick Fury’s pager from the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War a lot earlier.
But it also would’ve made the wait for Captain Marvel’s mid-credits Endgame tease to be paid off feel like an eternity — or perhaps it wouldn’t have had that stinger at all.
The Title Of Avengers 4 Changed From Infinity War: Part II To Endgame
Initially, the third and fourth Avengers movies were announced as Infinity War: Part I (set to be released on May 4, 2018) and Infinity War: Part II (set to be released on May 3, 2019). Eventually, Avengers 3 and 4 were changed from a two-parter into two standalone movies because Kevin Feige didn’t want audiences to go into Infinity War expecting it to end with a cliffhanger.
Unfortunately, this plan sort of backfired. Since it was initially announced as a two-parter, fans went in expecting a cliffhanger anyway.
