Just when we thought the ever-expanding franchise had finally been cut a break, the MCU has once again fallen victim to the steady stream of bad luck it’s suffered in 2023. In the definition of taking one step forward but two back, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might have opened to cosmic success but a much-beleaguered upcoming Marvel movie has been hit by yet another blow. Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds being forbidden from improving Deadpool 3 doesn’t bode well for the Merc’s MCU debut.

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Blade continues to prove it’s cursed as Marvel pulls the plug on production weeks before filming begins

In a sadly apropos twist (given the film’s half-vamp protagonist), Blade is essentially a dead movie walking at this point. After overcoming countless hurdles on its journey to go before cameras, the Mahershala Ali vehicle has been forced to halt just weeks before its shoot was finally due to begin next month. The reason? With a new screenwriter just having been hired last week, the WGA strike means there’s literally nothing for Marvel to film. Blade is currently scheduled for a September 2024 release, although it’s not hard to imagine the Daywalker’s MCU arrival being pushed back to a later date.

Deadpool 3 is still going ahead as planned, but Ryan Reynolds won’t be able to work his usual magic

On the other hand, thankfully, Thunderbolts and Deadpool 3 are going ahead with their productions as planned — although the much-anticipated threequel could be severely affected by the fact its leading man is forbidden from repeating a trick that made the first two DP films so enjoyable. Due to the WGA strike rules, Reynolds can star in the movie but he can’t make his usual last-minute changes to the script, something that kept the humor in past efforts nice and fresh. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that Reynolds already gave the screenplay his best gags.

Ahead of The Marvels, Guardians 3 might’ve already teased Captain Marvel’s franchise farewell

We haven’t even got to see The Marvels yet, but it’s just possible that the MCU has already debuted a replacement for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. Those who’ve already seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may be wishing to know more about a certain key new character introduced in James Gunn’s finale for the outer-space superheroes. Well, a glimpse at their comic book history tells us that Marvel might be playing a very long game here and that they could be teed up to eventually step into Larson’s shoes. Let’s just hope that this tease won’t lead to one more future project that doesn’t actually exist.

Whether Marvel Studios is able to make its projects or not, you can bet that more MCU news — including James Gunn’s revelation that makes Guardians 3‘s ending even more emotional — will strike any minute now.