The world is going through an absolutely unprecedented crisis right now, with the Coronavirus putting billions of lives on hold for the time being. For the film industry and its fans, this is an especially difficult time considering all of the movies and tv shows that have had their productions down and releases delayed. One franchise that is having arguably the most trouble with all of these changes is the ever-expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has faced production halts and release delays seemingly every week. Even in that light, news has hit for a couple of future productions and when exactly they may get going.
NEWS
In a release from the Film & Television Industry Alliance via MCU Cosmic, the production start dates for both She-Hulk and Spider-Man 3 have been revealed, although it is increasingly likely that both productions will be delayed due to the Coronavirus. The report claims She-Hulk was scheduled to begin production on July 6 for its unscheduled release on Disney+, while shooting for the third Spider-Man movie reportedly was set to run for three-an- a-half months from July 13 to October 30 in preparation for its theatrical release on July 16, 2021.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Things are in a rough state as Marvel Studios has had to push the start of Phase 4 to November 6, 2020 with Black Widow. Specifically for Marvel's theatrical releases next year, production for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has already been shut down, and the same fate seems to be inevitable for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, rumored to start shooting this summer. For the Disney+ mini-series, delays in shooting have hit from every corner, shutting down the productions of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki.
Spider-Man 3 wasn't part of the original Phase 4 delays due to it falling under Sony's control, but it seems inevitable at this point that it won't meet its projected start date. It will be interesting to find out exactly when the film takes place in the timeline considering its original release date was dropped so suddenly into the middle of the MCU's 2021 releases, which could mean it isn't as important when this movie takes place relative to its release date. This could be a similar situation to the one Black Widow falls into, being that it takes place earlier in the timeline and doesn't affect the present day the same way as other films. Even if its shooting schedule is delayed to late summer or early fall and pushes its release date further down the road, only time will tell to find out how much it affects the MCU timeline, if at all.
On the Disney+ side of the MCU, it is becoming clearer that She-Hulk will be the first show to come to life out of the small group with still unconfirmed release dates. With Jessica Gao already attached as the head writer and shooting originally scheduled to start so soon, it should only be a matter of time before casting decisions are announced, which is always exciting for the future. There are no confimed dates for Ms. Marvel or Moon Knight yet as well, and it seems that they will be further down the road than She-Hulk considering everything released thus far.
