COVID-19 is still causing calamity all over the world (don’t drink bleach!), in every sector and the movie industry is being hit as hard as any industry out there. Productions have all shut down, post-productions aren’t moving nearly as fast as they should if at all and this keeps affecting the proposed release dates of many blockbusters that need at least a year of time to complete. The world of Marvel is no stranger to this fate and in response to all the postponements, Marvel has had to delay the sequel to “Doctor Strange” by four months. Originally scheduled for Nov. 5, 2021, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” has now been pushed to March 25, 2022, the second coronavirus delay the film has suffered so far. Directed by Sam Raimi, following the exit of Scott Derrickson over creative differences, ‘Doc Strange 2’ will star Benedict Cumberbatch and will likely directly impact on the Disney+ series “WandaVision.”
‘Multiverse of Madness’ will feature Elizabeth Olsen reprising her role as the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, and the sequel was originally supposed to arrive in the summer of 2021, just a few months after the events of “WandaVision” in the spring. The Disney+ show was said to be interconnected and would lead straight into the ‘Strange’ sequel.
There have been no Marvel’s Disney+ series announcements yet, but you can bet those delays are coming too (“WandaVision” was expected in December of 2020, but 2021 is now pretty much a certainty). Michael Waldron, head writer Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series “Loki,” is writing the ‘Doctor Strange’ sequel.
READ MORE: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’: James Gunn Says He Has No Plans For A Fourth Film
Disney also made one more MCU shift: “Thor: Love and Thunder,” directed by Taika Waititi, has been moved up one week to Feb. 11, 2022 (previously, it had been slated for Feb. 18, 2022). The ‘Thor’ film and ‘Strange’ film are just six weeks away from release, but given the way COVID-19 has smashed all intended dates, it’s likely there is no better window left for ‘Strange 2.’ Given the switch, ‘Strange 2’ was originally intended to hit theaters far before ‘Love & Thunder,’ it must mean the events of each film are not particularly tied to one another.
To recap:
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”— March 25, 2022
“Thor: Love and Thunder”— Feb. 11, 2021
Previous Marvel dates, currently unchanged:
“Black Widow”— November 6, 2021
“Eternals” — February 12, 2021
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” — May 7, 2021
“Black Panther 2,” — May 8, 2022
“Captain Marvel 2” — July 8, 2022
