‘Doctor Strange 2’ To Undergo Six Weeks Of Reshoots

Yesterday on Disney+ Day, Marvel Studios announced a slew of new series coming to Disney+ including “Echo,” “Agatha House of Harkness,” “Spider-Man: Freshman Year,” “X-Men ’97,” and gave updates on previously announced shows. Fans seemed a little shocked that the studio didn’t reveal updates about the film slate or castings, but it was a Disney+ Day event guys: aka, things that are debuting on the streaming service, not theatrical. That said, there’s plenty of Marvel theatrical news out there too.

READ MORE: Disney Delays Marvel Studios’ Upcoming 2022 Slate Including ‘Doctor Strange 2,’ ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Thor 4’ & More

Last week, it was reported that Letitia Wright‘s recovery from an August injury has paused production on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and now there are “significant” reshoots and additional photography being planned for Sam Raimi‘s “Doctor Strange” sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s being reported that the extra footage for “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” being shot in Los Angeles could take “six weeks,” which means it’s much more than just the normal pick-ups of additional photography that is normally built into MCU budgets and is commonplace for Marvel Studios projects. This is substantial and likely points to major rewrites in the original script. Principal photography took place on the stages of Longcross Studios in Surrey, England that is being used by Nia DaCosta‘s “The Marvels” and would explain the move to the United States.

Star Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed to be involved, but what other cast members like Elizabeth Olsen will join him is unclear. Sam Raimi and screenwriter Michael Waldron remain on the project for the scenes, meaning, they haven’t been replaced which can happen due to scheduling conflicts.

As the title suggests, it will feature the Multiverse and dangerous otherworldly threats from within it. Doctor Strange will team up with Scarlet Witch and other characters including America Chavez, played by newcomer Xochitl Gomez. The size and scope of the reshoots are also being downplayed by several of the sources that talked to THR, but a), that’s what they do and b) one source does tellingly note that six weeks of reshoots in like an entirely new film for some productions.

Reshoots for films of this size are normal with big event expensive films and during the editing process, the director/studio discovers when they need to add more sequences or change existing footage with different shots. However, this one is major in length, so it’ll be interesting to see if the why of it, surfaces in new reports. These reshoots, alongside the “Black Panther 2” delays could be the reason for the recently announced release date changes to Marvel’s Phase 4 lineup.

“Doctor Strange 2” is still set to be released on May 6, 2022.