Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness quietly began shooting back in November in the UK, but this January it’s been forced to halt production for a while following the rising spread of COVID-19 across the country. This news hasn’t been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, but it was revealed by star Elizabeth Olsen during her latest talk show appearance.
Ahead of WandaVision debuting on Disney Plus next week, the actress was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night. Zooming in from England for her interview, Olsen at one point touched on Doctor Strange 2, in which she’ll be reprising her role as Scarlet Witch. The star explained that, given how the UK has been plunged into another lockdown, filming has been forced to suspend for the foreseeable future.
“Since the hospitals are overwhelmed here, we can’t go back to work until that calms down,” Olsen said. “So just safely hanging out here, and really grateful I get to be working. Disney has kept me busy during quarantine.”
Olsen’s involvement in the sequel was one of the first things we found out about it back when Marvel announced it in summer 2019. Since then, Sam Raimi has signed on to direct, replacing Scott Derrickson, and other familiar faces have jumped aboard, too. So far, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Baron Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong) and Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer) have all been confirmed to be returning opposite Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme.
Plus, given the title, we’re expecting many more cameos in the movie as well. And maybe even some crossover with Spider-Man 3, seeing as Cumberbatch will play a key role in that. As for how Wanda fits into proceedings, DS2 is set to follow on directly from WandaVision, so don’t miss the series once it premieres Friday, January 15th on Disney Plus, with episodes following weekly after that.
Meanwhile, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is on course to drop in March 2022. Though if these lockdowns continue, that may need to change.