Movie delays are not cheap, as “Mission: Impossible 8” realized during the 2023 strike when its budget increased to $400 million. Studios benefit from releasing movies on time, but Marvel has a history of delays.
The upcoming Marvel movie “Blade” was pulled from its original release date of Nov. 7, 2025. The movie does not have a director and will continue to be postponed until all key elements are implemented. It is also not the first time the movie has been delayed.
Disney obtained the rights to “Blade” in 2012 from New Line Cinema. A script was ready in 2013, but the film was not announced until 2019 when Mahershala Ali was set to play the lead.
Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to be the scriptwriter and Bassam Tariq was the director. In September 2022, Tariq dropped the film as the director and came on solely as a producer. During that time, Marvel went through more screenwriters.
Michael Green, the film’s fifth writer, was brought onto the film in December 2023. Yann Demange, the film’s second director, and Eric Pearson, its sixth writer, departed from the project in June 2024. Disney then replaced the film’s release date of Nov. 7, 2025, with a new movie in the “Predator” franchise.
Although most delays have not been as bad as the one for “Blade,” Disney has also pushed back the dates of other movies like “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*,” “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Snow White” and “Elio.” These delays were less recent due to the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. The strike stunted most productions; however, “Captain America: Brave New World” is set to be released on Feb. 14, 2025, followed by “Thunderbolts*” May 2.
Major events, such as the recent strikes, push productions back for a long time after occurring. The COVID-19 pandemic caused other major delays in the industry.
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was scheduled to release in July 2019, which would not have been affected by the pandemic. After a failed script, the project was pushed to 2020.
With Steven Spielberg stepping down as the director and Harrison Ford getting a shoulder injury, production was pushed back again and did not wrap until February 2022. The film was not released until 2023, four years after its original release date.
The Star Wars franchise has an indefinite hold on a sequel about its character Rey. The untitled film’s delay, like the one on “Blade,” is due to issues within the production team.
Taika Waititi created the film concept, but there is no known finished script for it. In March 2023, Steven Knight signed to write the script but left the project.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” also had its share of struggles, with nine delays from its original date. It is currently scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025, a year later than its original release. The sequels are still scheduled for release in 2029 and 2031, finishing the five movies’ story.
Technology has been the primary struggle in making the “Avatar” sequels. However, James Cameron is still set on directing and writing throughout the entire process, and much of the production staff will continue to be part of each project.
One of the longest film delays in movie history was “The Other Side of the Wind” (2018), which was delayed for 48 years. Production started in 1971 but was shut down because the government found embezzlement within the production company.
Frank Marshall gained the rights to the footage in 2014, and the film was edited and finished. The movie debuted in 2018 and a documentary about the process was released on Netflix later that year.
Although “Blade” has been delayed indefinitely, it has the potential to come back like other films have. Despite the 2023 strikes and COVID-19 pandemic, film production has persisted.
