As the number of coronavirus cases kept increasing over the summer, we heard all sorts of rumblings about potential movie delays. This was the case for various titles, including Marvel’s MCU movies. Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of them, although Sony made the movie in partnership with Disney. Rumors said the studios were still assessing the situation, and release date delays were still on the table.
Then the Shang-Chi premiere came, and the movie’s opening weekend was quite impressive for the pandemic. Sony decided to push up the Venom 2 release, which also did admirably during its opening weekend. And
Even after the first No Way Home trailer hit, an insider claimed that Sony might postpone the film. That report said the next Spider-Man might take Doctor Strange 2’s place on March 25th, 2022.
Since then,
Sony might still delay the No Way Home release date
Plugged-in YouTuber Grace Randolph said in early September that Sony could still delay No Way Home, despite having released the first teaser. Following Disney’s delays, she is back with more details about what’s happening.
Randolph explained in a video that the MCU’s Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2 movies have test screening issues. Both of these multiverse movies are “kitchen sink” movies, with test audiences identifying issues with their stories. It might be too late for Sony and Marvel to fix No Way Home, but Marvel has plenty of time for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reshoots.
Aside from story issues, both movies are “down to the wire” when it comes to VFX. We’re looking at “very tight and stressful deadlines” for special effects. And the studios want to make sure that No Way Home looks as good as possible.
Also, Sony is reportedly still keeping an eye on the Eternals box office performance. The movie is tracking for a better opening weekend than Black Widow and Shang-Chi. But an excellent opening weekend isn’t enough. A film like No Way Home would easily surpass $1 billion if not for the pandemicrun. Given all the hype around it, it could probably reach $2 billion in pre-pandemic times.
What about the Spider-Man trailers?
The VFX and box office worries are the reasons that might convince Sony to delay its No Way Home release date again. But Randolph didn’t mention any reshoots for the Sony movie. She said that Doctor Strange 2 will get reshoots to fix the story and add more cameos that fans expect from this multiverse film.
As for trailers and marketing, the insider said that Sony hasn’t even really started promoting No Way Home. The first trailer might have only dropped because it had already leaked online. Sony could always postpone the marketing push if the film’s release date is pushed back again.
Recent reports said that the next No Way Home trailer will drop before the Eternals release. That clip might show the three Spider-Man variants for the first time. That’s the big open secret of No Way Home. Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield are playing their Spider-Man versions in the film. But Sony never tackled this plot detail in the first trailer.
As always, this is just a rumor. Nothing is official until Sony makes an announcement. And there’s plenty of time for Sony to decide whether to stick with the December 17th premiere or delay the Spider-Man: No Way Home release to 2022. Randolph’s full take on the matter follows below.
