Restrictions and lockdowns in the U.K. over the pandemic have suspended the production for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after Prime Minister Boris Johnson reinforced a strict lockdown last week as a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 spreads and fills hospitals.
In an interview, WandaVision and Doctor Strange in a Multiverse of Madness star Elizabeth Olsen revealed that the production has been suspended. „Since the hospitals are overwhelmed here, we can’t go back to work until it calms down.” Olsen said. „So just safely hanging out here, and really grateful I get to be working. Disney has kept me busy during quarantine.”
While WandaVision is preparing to launch on the 15th of January, exclusively on Disney+, it is unclear how long the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness production will be shut down. Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport in the U.K. says, “You should work from home unless you can’t – exemptions include for training and rehearsal of performances, recording studios, film and TV production.” Apparently, the U.K. government is allowing movie productions to continue, despite the lockdown, which means that Marvel Studios and Disney probably pulled the plug over safety concerns.