Although the United Kingdom marked the New Year by plunging into a new lockdown which may last until anywhere between mid February to late March (or beyond), the country’s film and television industry remains operational with productions allowed to continue as long as they follow stringent health and safety guidelines.
However, it seems that Marvel Studios has made the decision to temporarily halt production on the Sam Raimi-directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) revealing on Jimmy Kimmel Live that filming on the sequel has been paused.
“Since the hospitals are overwhelmed here, we can’t go back to work until that calms down,” said Olsen. “I’m just safely hanging out here [in the UK], and just really grateful I get to be working. Disney has kept me busy during quarantine!”
Multiverse of Madness is currently set for release in March 2022, although who really knows at this point whether it will hold that date? We do know however that Olsen’s Scarlet Witch will be back this month as Marvel launches Phase Four of the MCU with the premiere of the Disney+ series WandaVision.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is being directed by Sam Raimi and stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo) and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) as well as Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) as America Chavez.