The Captain America and Black Panther team-up game Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is still in development. A cancellation rumor spread online earlier this week, and Kotaku then reported that executive producer Lu Gigliotti told the team on Slack that Skydance's executive leadership had asked him to pass along that "there is no truth to these claims." The game was last delayed a year ago in a statement from the studio, then called Skydance Games and now Paramount Games. Check out the official post down below:
Neither Paramount Games nor Marvel Games has posted a public statement about the rumor on X.
The Comic Behind The Game
Marvel 1943 is inspired by Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers, a 2010 4-issue miniseries written by Reginald Hudlin and penciled by Denys Cowan. The comic shows Steve Rogers meeting the Black Panther during World War II, but the Panther is King Azzuri the Wise, T'Challa's grandfather. Captain America and the Howling Commandos join Wakanda in fighting off a Nazi attempt to seize Vibranium, with the Red Skull and Baron Strucker among the threats.
The game moves that meeting to Occupied Paris in 1943. Its official synopsis reads, "In the chaos of war, worlds collide. Captain America and Azzuri, the Black Panther of the 1940s, must overcome their differences and form an uneasy alliance to confront their common enemy." They fight alongside Gabriel Jones of the Howling Commandos and Nanali, "a Wakandan spy embedded in Occupied Paris," to stop "a sinister plot that threatens to turn the havoc of WWII into the ultimate rise of Hydra."
The Heroes And Their Comics History
- Steve Rogers, Captain America: played by Drew Moerlein
- Azzuri, the 1940s Black Panther: played by Khary Payton
- Gabriel Jones: played by Marque Richardson
- Nanali, leader of the Wakandan Spy Network: played by Megalyn Echikunwoke
- Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father: played by Joel Johnstone
- Julie, a French Resistance ally created for the game: played by Lyne Renée
Gabriel Jones was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 in May 1963. Derek Luke played him in Captain America: The First Avenger, which Paramount distributed in 2011. Amy Hennig, the writer and director of the first 3 Uncharted games, leads the project, and Marc Bernardin co-wrote the story with her. Marvel's story trailer is below:
What The Report Says
The rumor started with a fan account named Marvel 1943 Rise Of Hydra Countdown. Gigliotti's Slack message said he had spoken "directly" with the "executive leadership team," and added, "They asked me to make sure you all hear that directly." Developers were told the studio was "monitoring the situation" and would address it "through the appropriate channels," and that the game is approaching an "Alpha" milestone later this month.
The report also describes repeated trouble during development. Marvel 1943 was first pitched as a Netflix game before it moved to console and PC, and the current version is described as light on gameplay, mostly using 1 button, well over budget and cut back in length and content. A source on the project called it "close to done." The report adds that at least 30 people at Paramount Games were laid off a few days earlier, including many from Skydance, without a significant impact on the Marvel 1943 team.
The Delays
Marvel 1943 was revealed in March 2024 with a 2025 window, then delayed to "early 2026" in May 2025 and "beyond early 2026" in November 2025. In June, Paramount Games Studio executive Shawn Kittelsen said, "I don't think it'll be 2026," as covered in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra Is Still Happening, But Don't Expect It Before 2027. The full cast reveal is in MARVEL 1943: RISE OF HYDRA's Main Cast Revealed Along With More Jaw-Dropping Screenshots.
Which other World War II Marvel hero would you most want to see fight alongside Captain America and Azzuri in Marvel 1943?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.