The Marvels And Ant-Man 3 Swap Release Dates In 2023

Setting release dates way ahead of time can be tricky, especially when you're making massive, multi-million dollar Marvel team-up films. The Marvel Cinematic Universe tends to set release dates way in advance in order to get people excited about each phase of their content, but occasionally that can bite them in the behind when production schedules change. The pandemic has seen even more production scheduling issues than movies pre-pandemic, so it's never a huge surprise when something gets pushed around or rescheduled. That being said, it's still a pretty big surprise that Marvel is switching the release dates on two of its upcoming MCU features: the Brie Larson-led "The Marvels" and the next sequel for Paul Rudd's Ant-Man, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." 

"The Marvels" is the sequel to 2019's "Captain Marvel" and will also tie into the upcoming "Ms. Marvel" Disney+ series, while "Quantumania" is the third "Ant-Man" film after "Ant-Man and the Wasp" in 2018. Originally, "The Marvels" was due to open on February 17, 2023 and "Quantumania" was set to open on July 28, 2023, but now we'll be getting Ant-Man shenanigans in February and a summer opener for the many Marvels. 

According to Variety, who broke the news, insiders reported that "Quantumania" is simply closer to being complete than "The Marvels," as the latter is still undergoing principal photography. Since all of the footage is in the can for "Quantumania" and all they have left is special effects and editing, then they have a much better shot at making the February release window than something that's still filming. 

The other big 2023 theatrical release for Marvel, James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," is still set to debut in theaters on May 5, 2023. The 2022 MCU release calendar appears to be unchanged, with "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" on May 6, "Thor: Love and Thunder" on July 8, and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" on November 11. Those are unlikely to change unless there are any major production or post-production snafus, like the injury-related shutdown on "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". 

Marvel also has numerous television series in the works, including the aforementioned "Ms. Marvel," the "Hawkeye" spin-off series "Echo," and additional seasons of hits like "Loki." Wherever you turn, there's some kind of Marvel content to enjoy, so fans can't be too upset about the switcheroo. After all, they're still getting both movies, just in a slightly different order.