Avengers: Secret Wars’ Delay Was Inevitable (& Very Good)

The delay of Marvel Studios’ Blade and other shifts in Phases 5 & 6, resulted in an inevitable yet welcome delay for Avengers: Secret Wars.

Marvel Studios announced the delay of Blade in the MCU alongside a shift in Phases Five and Six and a welcome delay for Avengers: Secret Wars. Blade‘s delay was announced after news that director Bassam Tariq had departed the project and that rewrites were needed on the script. The film was shifted into the September 2024 slot in the Marvel release schedule that was previously occupied by Deadpool 3, and several of the films in the Marvel release schedule were pushed back or otherwise rearranged.

One of the films that was pushed back was Avengers: Secret Wars. Initially, Marvel Studios announced that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (which has kept its May 2025 release date) and Avengers: Secret Wars would release in the same year. However, with Blade, Deadpool 3, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Fantastic Four all being pushed back, Avengers: Secret Wars has done the same with a new release date of May 1st, 2026. This delay was inevitably going to happen at some point and is actually a good thing, with issues around VFX work and scheduling now being eased for the studio.

Related: Secret Wars Can Solve Phase 4’s Avengers Powers Problem

The Avengers: Secret Wars Delay Will Make A Better Movie

The main way in which the delay of Avengers: Secret Wars will improve its quality is simply by easing the burden on all parts of Marvel Studios. Crafting a two-part Avengers story, despite being done for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, is a massive logistical task with plenty of room for error. The main difference with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, however, was that they were set to release just six months apart, whereas Infinity War and Endgame had a year gap. Separating the movies by just six months would have put immeasurable strain on the producers of Marvel Studios, having to get all actors involved in the ensemble cast together at the right times to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Another issue that would have arisen from the six-month gap was the massive demand on VFX companies it would have caused. Marvel Studios have already had their issues with VFX companies in recent years, with the overwhelming film and TV slates causing major strain on VFX workers and resulting in common lapses of CGI quality. With the CGI work on Avengers movies being much bigger than the usual MCU projects, on top of other upcoming movies and shows in production, the six-month gap between release dates would have likely caused awful working conditions for VFX companies and resulted in poorer work on screen.

In delaying Avengers: Secret Wars by a year, however, all of these issues have been alleviated, which will result in a better overall film. Now, the films do not need to be shot back-to-back, with room for The Kang Dynasty to be shot in 2024, and Secret Wars in 2025. Not only will this ease scheduling concerns, but the year gap between releases will greatly help all involved improve the quality of the film by giving the cast and crew much more time, and less strict deadlines.

Infinity War & Endgame Proved A Year Gap Works

Marvel Studios already have the perfect two-part release schedule nailed down after the success of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame at box office and critically. The year-long gap between the two films was perfect, allowing just enough time for people to take in the cliffhanger gut-punch ending of Infinity War, while also allowing space for Marvel to build sufficient hype around Endgame. A year gap is the perfect amount of time to separate two films that go together as one, as The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars are expected to do. Releasing two films on the huge scale of Avengers movies within six months of each other may have resulted in the ever-theorized superhero fatigue, and resulted in either of the films being received more negatively as a result, which Avengers 3 & 4 avoided thanks to the year in between. However, the delay of Blade and the subsequent delay of Avengers: Secret Wars is beginning to look like a blessing in disguise which can surely only benefit the the Multiverse Saga in the long run.

Next: Will Kang Dynasty & Secret Wars Be Bigger Than Infinity War & Endgame?