A new Disney+ announcement seems to suggest that only three Marvel Studios shows are scheduled to hit the platform in 2023, despite the studio's slate previously calling for up to four more.
According to The Direct, a Disney+ Japan blog post has revealed that the three shows still on schedule for a 2023 launch are Secret Invasion, Loki Season 2 and Ironheart. The post excludes several other Disney+ shows Marvel announced for a potential 2023 launch at San Diego Comic-Con, namely What If...? Season 2, which had announced an early 2023 premiere; Echo, which was originally aiming for summer 2023 before being pushed back to much later in the year; X-Men '97, which was aiming for the fall; and Agatha: Coven of Chaos, which had an announced a release window of late 2023/early 2024. If the blog post holds true, it seems that these titles will not hit Disney+ until 2024 at the earliest.
Echo showrunner Marion Dayre recently confirmed that the Hawkeye spinoff's release date would be later than expected, stating that the summer 2023 release window announced at SDCC had been pushed back to at least December 2023. That said, Echo is seemingly still slated to premiere before Daredevil: Born Again, which is currently expected to drop in spring 2024. This is of note, as the two shows are expected to share key characters.
Numerous MCU Projects Have Already Been Delayed
Several Marvel movie projects have also recently been hit with delays. The release date for the Mahershala Ali-led Blade was changed earlier this year after original director Bassim Tariq departed, moving from Nov. 3, 2023 to Deadpool 3's original planned release date of Sept. 6, 2024. Blade's delay has had a knock-on effect on previously announced Phase Five and Six movies. Deadpool's first outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now scheduled for Nov. 8, 2024, which in turn has pushed back Fantastic Four to Feb. 14, 2025. While Avengers: Kang Dynasty has kept its May 2, 2025 release date, its sequel, Avengers: Secrets Wars, has been shifted from debuting in the same year (Nov. 7, 2025) to being released almost exactly a year later on May 1, 2026.
Interestingly, the revelation that many of Marvel's planned 2023 Disney+ projects could be delayed until at least 2024 comes shortly after reports that the studio was looking to refocus on quality over quantity amid internal criticism of Phase Four's packed slate.
Source: The Direct