- A Marvel insider claimed that three MCU Phase 4 TV shows that were in development for Disney+ will not resume work in the coming weeks due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- He suggested that other Phase 4 productions, including some of next year’s movies and TV series may be impacted by the delay.
- The report was later removed, but the insider defended the accuracy of the leaked email on Twitter.
- Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.
We would have been just about five weeks away from Black Widow, but its May 1st premiere isn’t happening because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Some say the film’s delay won’t ruin the MCU Phase 4 timeline, and that may very well be the case. But the COVID-19 outbreak is a major problem for Marvel’s Phase 4, not just Black Widow. Several other TV shows and movies are in various stages of production, and work has been halted on most of them. And now an insider who has been reporting on Marvel’s latest Phase 4 developments over the past few months said in a new blog post that MCU Phase 4 production is shut down indefinitely. Then he took down the post.
Charles Murphy from MurphysMultiverse authored a short piece over the weekend on his blog in which he said that Marvel informed crew members via email that their current 4-week hiatus has been extended indefinitely.
The list of affected shows includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki. According to the leaked email, crew members were notified that as of April 3rd, they will not be employed on their particular contract. Production will restart “when the global health environment allows,” the email said.
Murphy said that it’s assumed that other movies that are in production may be delayed. He listed Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings as such an example, a movie we already know was halted because of the coronavirus outbreak, adding that these delays may impact next year’s films as well, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder.
The leaker took down the post at some point after it hit the press (a cached version of it is available here).
FYI: The delay has been disputed by someone claiming to be a crew member. I have taken it down for the time being.
— Charles I Don't Know About That Trailer Murphy (@_CharlesMurphy) March 21, 2020
Murphy said on Twitter he removed the post as the delay has been disputed, but then said the leak was accurate:
I didn't take the story down because it was inaccurate. I took it down because I deemed it insensitive after hearing from another crew member.
My site, like almost any other small blog, is irrelevant now. I don't want to find relevance by ruining some 20something's day.— Charles I Don't Know About That Trailer Murphy (@_CharlesMurphy) March 21, 2020
In fairness, April 3rd doesn’t even sound like a plausible deadline for resuming any sort of day-to-day activities. Quarantines and lockdowns will likely have to be extended well beyond that to reduce the spread of the virus, and multiple businesses will be affected in the process, including the movie business.
— Charles I Don't Know About That Trailer Murphy (@_CharlesMurphy) March 21, 2020
Working from home might be possible for some of the affected MCU Phase 4 projects, assuming they’re done filming, but that’s apparently not the case for Falcon and WandaVision.
I know a lot of people what their return to "normal." Normal is going to be very different. We're experiencing a once in a century (or so) world wide event. So much more is going to change over the next 4-6 months. Be strong out there. Be smart.
— Charles I Don't Know About That Trailer Murphy (@_CharlesMurphy) March 22, 2020
At this point, it doesn’t matter how long these MCU Phase 4 delays will be. What matters most is the health and safety of all people, and the best way to ensure that is via prolonged social distancing measures. Be ready to continue playing your part in the global effort of defeating this virus by staying at home for as long as possible and washing your hands often.
