Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Continues Remote Pre-Production
The entertainment industry has seen productions freeze as COVID-19 has spread across the globe. Some of the biggest productions going at the moment, from Warner Bros. The Batman and The Matrix 4 to Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 7 to Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have shut down. As of now, with the situation around the world so fluid, there is no expectation that productions can start up again until at least mid-May, with a strong possibility that this date will end up being pushed back. Much depends on when state governments deem it is safe to lift their bans on gatherings of 10 or more people, and film productions are, among many other things, large gatherings of people working closely together.
Yet there are plenty of films that were only beginning pre-production that are working remotely to keep their productions on track so that when they can begin production, they’ll be ready. Variety reports that one of those productions, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is not only plowing ahead by remotely working on pre-production, but they are also (as of now) still slated to begin filming in June.
The Doctor Strange sequel will of course only start production if it’s safe. With beloved Spider-Man director Sam Raimi now at the helm, he is leading the charge on a film that has a more complex release strategy than most. The film sees Avengers alum Elizabeth Olsen co-starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch. Olsen, who has played the Scarlet Witch in three Avengers films, is also starring alongside Paul Bettany in Marvel’s Disney+ series WandaVision. That series ties directly into the events in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, both of which exist in the painstakingly planned Marvel Cinematic Universe. With WandaVision slated to be released on Disney+ later this year, there is no doubt that Marvel is keen to keep their Doctor Strange sequel on schedule best they can, safety permitted. When you’re making a Marvel film, you’re working closely together (albeit remotely) with all the other productions that are a part of the studio’s massive, impressively well-oiled Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As of now, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is supposed to hit theaters on May 7, 2021.
Featured image: Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. L to R: Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong). Photo: Film Frame. ©Marvel Studios 2018
Here’s more of our coverage on how COVID-19 is affecting the entertainment industry, and how the entertainment industry is trying to do their part to help:
The Walking Dead & Better Call Saul Director Bronwen Hughes Talks Drama, Real & Imagined
Costume Designers Guild to Sew Masks for Hospitals
The below-the-line talent who will be hit the hardest.
Read Christopher Nolan’s Passionate Piece on the Importance of Movie Theaters
How cinematographer Kira Kelly shot Netflix’s Self Made and is responding to her sudden furlough.
Amy Adams & Jennifer Garner Team Up to Help Kids Affected by COVID-19
Featured image: Chris Evans (left), Ana de Armas (center) and director Rian J
