Marvel to only release one superhero film next year instead of the planned three

Marvel appears to be scaling back its movie releases.

There's so far been a whopping 33 films based in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making the Fast and Furious franchise look small.

Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther proved to be box office hits for the studio, but its more recent releases have been notably less successful.

Its newest movie, The Marvels, made its cinematic debut on 10 November and, while Captain Marvel grossed an impressive $1.1 billion worldwide, it's not looking as optimistic for its sequel.

The Marvels brought in just $47 million at the box office on its opening weekend, making it the lowest opening weekend for a MCU movie.

It was initially tracking to bring in $75 million to $80 million on the first weekend.

With the recent flop in mind, it's said that Marvel Studios has gone back to the drawing board.

It had initially planned to release Deadpool 3, Captain America: New World Order, and Thunderbolts in 2024 - but now only one will be put out.

And Ryan Reynolds fans will be pleased to know that it's Deadpool that's still made the cut for next year.

20th Century Fox

Hugh Jackman is reprising his role of Wolverine alongside his pal Reynolds for the film.

The synopsis for the highly anticipated movie reads: "Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth, Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy."

While it hasn't been axed from 2024's schedule completely, it has been pushed back a bit as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

It was initially set for release on 3 May, but it will now hit cinemas a few weeks later on 26 July, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The news will come as a relief to many, with some having feared that it was still years off being released.

20th Century Fox

Film production was halted indefinitely back in July as a result of the now-finished strike, and finally resumed last week.

Before production shutdown, Deadpool 3 had reportedly shot around 50 percent of its content and will resume in the coming days 'or in very near future', according to a report by Deadline.

Addressing the new deal that's been struck up with some of the world's biggest studios, the union said in a statement: "We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers.

"Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work."

The strike has gone down in history as the longest strike by actors against film and TV studios.