Disney has delayed the release date for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania, pushing the film back five months from its previous 2023 release date. Directed by Peyton Reed, the third entry in the Ant-Man trilogy stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, alongside a ing cast that includes Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeifer, Kathryn Newton, and Jonathan Majors. Previously, Ant-Man 3 was planned to release in theaters on February 17, 2023.
The first two Ant-Man movies contributed majorly to the overarching MCU story by introducing Loki, as its primary antagonist. With the multiverse now becoming the foundation for MCU Phase 4 and Phase 5 and Kang being positioned as the main villain of that arc, Ant-Man 3 could be one of the most important entries in the franchise to date.
Unfortunately, it will be a long time before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania makes it to the big screen. Disney has officially pushed the film's release date back from February 17, 2023, to July 28, 2023 – a delay of more than five months. Captain Marvel 2, which has also been delayed from its planned release date of November 11, 2022, will take Ant-Man's place on the February 17 date.
As of now, it's not entirely clear why so many of the Marvel movies in development have been delayed. However, the scheduling changes may be due to production concerns or worry about an impending strike from the workers' union. As other studios scramble to sort out their release schedules, it's also possible that Disney wants to get their biggest blockbusters out of 2022's crowded and potentially chaotic early months. As a result, movies further down the release pipeline, like Ant-Man 3, must also be pushed to make room. Warner Bros. is ramping up its release schedule of DC films over the next two years, making the superhero landscape particularly crowded.
Out of every Marvel movie that's been delayed, Ant-Man 3 is the only one to have moved around in the franchise's overarching release order. The film was initially intended to premiere before James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Still, it will now release after, as Guardians' release date of May 5, 2023, has not been delayed. Because of all the interconnected plot threads that tie the films of the MCU together, that change could have some more significant narrative implications. Hopefully, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be worth the wait when it arrives in cinemas on July 28, 2023.
Source: Disney
