Captain America: Brave New World has been pushed back to an early 2025 release date, but news has emerged that helps it to make more sense.
Captain America: Brave New World is the second MCU movie to release in the current schedule following Deadpool 3 in 2024, and its recent delay to a 2025 release date now makes sense. Captain America: Brave New World stars Sam Wilson in his first cinematic appearance as the titular Captain America, who is joined by several characters that were first introduced way back in 2008 as stars of The Incredible Hulk. Notably, Mark Ruffalo is not listed as one of the actors in Captain America: Brave New World set to reprise his role as Bruce Banner in the movie, despite Banner’s girlfriend, Betty Ross, and erstwhile collaborator, Samuel Sterns, appearing.
The casting has raised many questions about the narrative of this “Captain America” story given that its main characters are typically associated with the Hulk. As yet, details are scarce, leaving it up to speculation over whether this movie will act as a lay-up to an MCU World War Hulk movie and maybe introduce the Red Hulk. It will still be a while before anything is confirmed, however, as it was recently reported (via Deadline) that Matthew Orton, who worked as a consulting producer on Moon Knight, has been tasked with heading up upcoming reshoots.
Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson step up and take the shield in a solo movie for the first time – here’s all the Cap 4 news so far.
Captain America 4’s Release Date Delay Is Likely Due To Reshoots Scheduling
Reshoots for Captain America: Brave New World are currently scheduled for mid-2024. The original release date for the movie was Summer 2024, which gives a clear indication now as to why the release date was pushed back by several months. The new release date for Captain America: Brave New World is February 14, 2024, leaving ample time for the reshoots to remold the movie in the wake of some bitter disappointments in the MCU.
While there is no way of predicting how long the reshoots will take, Orton will reportedly be filming all-new scenes after principal photography. Test audiences were reportedly disappointed with the original scenes, meaning there is a lot of work to do for the movie. Between Spring 2024 and February 2025, however, there are at least six months to get things in ship shape ahead of the first MCU movie of 2025.
Why Captain America 4 Needs Reshoots
The MCU is no stranger to reshoots, with the tried-and-tested method even being dubbed the “Marvel Method” after engaging in the practice regularly since Iron Man. Reshoots most often occur after test screenings as a response to the audience’s reception of the originally penned narrative and take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. This can lead to varying degrees of change, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being one standout recent example of a movie that underwent extensive reshoots. Despite having a bad rep, however, reshoots aren’t always a bad thing.
Oftentimes, the idea of reshooting a movie implies that the movie is subpar and threatens to descend into sheer chaos as producers attempt to paint over the bad bits. When a movie doesn’t meet expectations, reshoots often become the scapegoat, while leaked plot points from the original script are regarded through rose-tinted glasses as spotless examples of “what could have been.” The truth, however, is that Captain America: Brave New World is likely going to benefit from reshoots – and it has plenty of time to do so.
Don’t Worry, Captain America 4’s Reshoots Are A Good Thing
It is no secret that the MCU is currently undergoing a bit of a crisis as several recent releases underperformed critically, financially, or both. The SAG-AFTRA strikes that took place this year put a stopper on Marvel’s typically prolific release schedule, however, moving movies like Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts back by quite a margin. This may have been the golden opportunity that Marvel needed, however.
Audiences are largely OK with the release date delays given the surrounding climate in which they have been produced. At the same time, “superhero fatigue” is at the forefront of discussion surrounding the MCU, and it’s fair to say that some people are looking forward to a breather as 2024 promises just one cinematic release from the MCU, as opposed to the typical three. It also affords Orton the time to work heavily on Captain America: Brave New World, with the failures of recent installments providing valuable lessons.
The Marvels was Marvel’s biggest financial flop and will have been a huge wake-up call for the studio. While it is far from being the worst MCU movie, several factors led to the failure of The Marvels, likewise for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania, which landed flat. With all this considered, it is time for Marvel to switch up the formula and readjust what it believes will be well-received by audiences in time for the release of Captain America: Brave New World.