Disney has delayed the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness release date, pushing the film back two months from its previous premiere on March 25, 2022. Directed by Sam Raimi, the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the MCU’s Sorcerer Supreme, alongside Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and a supporting cast that includes Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez. Doctor Strange 2 will still be the fifth film in MCU Phase 4 when it releases, following Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Before it even began, MCU Phase 4 was wracked by delays and production hiccups due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those issues resulted in numerous pushed release dates for major Marvel movies and the use of the hybrid theatrical/Disney+ streaming model for Black Widow. For a time, it looked like the dates were finally set in stone for Marvel Studios’ release schedule over the next couple of years. Unfortunately, that assumption seems to have been premature.

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Disney has just delayed five upcoming Phase 4 MCU movies, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film will now release on May 6, 2022 - the original release date for Thor: Love & Thunder, which has also been delayed. That’s about a month and a half later than the previously planned Doctor Strange 2 release date of March 25, 2022.

With theater attendance still hampered by the ongoing effects of the coronavirus, Disney’s Marvel movie delays aren’t all that surprising, especially as winter – and a potential surge in covid-19 cases – approaches. The company could also have been motivated by shifting release schedules among competitors, hoping to get their big Phase 4 films out of the way of other big movies like The Batman (March 4, 2022) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (April 8, 2022). Whatever the reason, Marvel moviegoers will have to wait a little longer for 2022’s lineup to kickoff with Doctor Strange 2.

Although the release date itself has been pushed, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will still hold the same position in the overall MCU Phase 4 release order, premiering after Spider-Man: No Way Home and before Thor: Love and Thunder. Since No Way Home will feature Doctor Strange in a prominent role, the two films may connect directly, so it’s good to see that their sequential releases haven’t been disrupted. Doctor Strange 2 will release in cinemas on May 6, 2022.

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Source: Disney