Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were devastated when it was originally announced that the entire slate of Phase Four movies were being pushed back due to Coronavirus concerns, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that they haven’t taken the latest batch of delays particularly well, either.
As we were all expecting to happen, Spider-Man 3 was officially pushed back to November 2021, taking the release date that was originally intended for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Sorcerer Supereme’s second solo adventure now isn’t arriving until March 2022, by which point five and a half years will have passed since the first installment, marking the longest gap ever between MCU sequels.
Multiverse of Madness was going to directly follow on from the events that are set to take place in Disney Plus’ WandaVision, and it remains to be seen if the most recent delay will impact those plans at all, given that the show is now scheduled to be released fifteen months before we see Wanda and Doctor Strange teaming up on the big screen.
Almost as soon as the news broke though, fans headed online to let their feelings be known on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being delayed for the second time in less than a month, and you can check out some of the reactions below.
I cant believe we got Spider-Man 2 last year and were getting a new one next year, but Doctor Strange had his first film 4 years ago and his second one is coming out in 2 years I cant believe this.
— grace (@theonegrxce) April 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/lgbtkweenrey/status/1253863810781155328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253863810781155328&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fdoctor-strange-fans-disappointed-that-sequel-has-been-delayed-again%2F
https://twitter.com/ironstrge/status/1253862749571960833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253862749571960833&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fdoctor-strange-fans-disappointed-that-sequel-has-been-delayed-again%2F
https://twitter.com/romanoffnparker/status/1253810347376443393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253810347376443393&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fdoctor-strange-fans-disappointed-that-sequel-has-been-delayed-again%2F
anyway. devastated.
but happy by the fact we follow the best hero. i knew it in the 1980s and still know it now. #DoctorStrange pic.twitter.com/zBTjsBVSSW— duskybatfishgirl 💙💛 (@duskybatfishgrl) April 25, 2020
Spider-Man 3, Into the Spider-Verse 2, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness really all got delayed during the same day pic.twitter.com/DKYqBooUSF
— MG (@mgonmovies) April 25, 2020
Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3 are being delayed till 2022 pic.twitter.com/DljWwLzB8j
— ⎊ ѕρσσку sᴛᴇᴘʜ ➐ (@ghoulgirl0666) April 25, 2020
When you realise #DoctorStrange 2 has been moved all the way back to March 2022. #MARVEL pic.twitter.com/mARcajMGxF
— Marvel Fandom (@TheMarvelFandom) April 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/ya_boi_jakob/status/1253834045856681984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253834045856681984&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fdoctor-strange-fans-disappointed-that-sequel-has-been-delayed-again%2F
https://twitter.com/thorthunders/status/1253826581501546498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1253826581501546498&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fdoctor-strange-fans-disappointed-that-sequel-has-been-delayed-again%2F
The fans might not be happy, but you can completely understand Marvel’s decision in pushing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness back even further. Sam Raimi was only recently hired to replace Scott Derrickson as director, which must have led to major pre-production changes. Not only that, but the visual effects work is set to be pretty time consuming, and the movie only has the bare-bones of a cast, so hopefully the delay gives the creative team more time to create the game-changer for the MCU that everyone keeps saying it’s going to be.