Marvel Dumps ‘Captain Marvel’, Replaces ‘The Marvels’ with ‘Ant-Man 3’

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Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in the 'Avengers: Endgame' film

Credit: Marvel Studios

The Marvel Cinematic Universe just swapped the release dates of their biggest movies of 2023: The Marvels (2023) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

The main cast of 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
Credit: Marvel Studios

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2023 is a massive year for comic book movies and superheroes, particularly for Marvel with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels, Ant-Man, and the Wasp: Quantumania featuring Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).

jonathan majors as kang variant he who remains
Credit: Marvel Studios

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Every Marvel fan eagerly awaits the return of Kang the Conqueror and his overarching effect as the new big bad over the Marvel Collection.

Now, in a turn of events, Kang is returning to the MCU sooner:

‘THE MARVELS’ and ‘ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA’ have swapped release dates.

‘Quantumania’ will now release on February 17, 2023 and ‘The Marvels’ will now release on July 28, 2023.

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While it’s unclear why Marvel has swapped the dates of The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it’s evident that the Multiverse and its lasting effects have shifted the events of these two films and how they influence each other, as well as the entire Marvel Universe.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel
Credit: Marvel Studios

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As always, Marvel knows every plan ten years in advance. This sudden swap of release dates between The Marvels and Ant-Man is happening for a fundamental reason.

Much like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) switching release schedules to better tell a conclusive story, Captain Marvel (2019) and Quantumania are making significant changes to the MCU that Marvel Studios foresaw, leading to their decision to swap the 2023 release dates of the respective films to better tell the episode Phase Four journey.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'
Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel fans are static for this breaking news, rejoicing that they’ll get to see Kang the Conqueror/He Who Remains earlier:

WE WILL SEE HIM SOONER!!!

Another fan wrote:

KANG IS COMING SOONER THAN EXPECTED

Another fan points out:

I guess Ant Man 3 is more complete since part of the post production was done in pre production

Related: ‘Deadpool 3’ May Surprise Fans With Unexpected Twist

Secret Invasion, the upcoming Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Disney+ series featuring Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) set around the Kree directly influences and sets up The Marvels much like WandaVision leads into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp (left) and Paul Rudd as Ant Man (right)
Credit: Marvel Studios

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Given recent reports that Secret Invasion is experiencing various delays and taking longer in production than initially expected, it’s possible that this date swap with Ant-Man is to ensure that Marvel’s overall story flows congruently with Secret Invasion and more.

Nick Fury
Credit: Disney/Marvel

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The Marvel Universe is becoming much more than iconic characters/Earth’s Mightiest Heroes like Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson).

WandaVision's finale
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: Tobey Maguire Reportedly “Wants to Return as Spider-Man” with Sam Raimi

Tom Holland’s Avenger, Spider-Man, is leading the way for Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomers Kate BishopMs. Marvel/Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), Eternals’ Thena (Angelina Jolie), and more — especially with his next Spider-Man trilogy that’s currently in the works.

Which movie are you excited to see? Comment below!

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