‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Pushed Back to March 2022

Disney has moved “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to March 25, 2022, the latest release date delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The studio had recently moved it to Nov. 5, 2021, but decided to shift the dates again to the following March.

Additionally, Disney moved “Thor: Love and Thunder” up a week, from Feb. 18, 2022 to Feb. 11, 2022. It removed two films — an untitled live-action movie set for March 25, 2022, and an untitled 20th Century Fox film slated for April 8, 2022 — from its schedule. It replaced the latter with a Disney live-action film, and also dated an event movie for July 9, 2021.

Benedict Cumberbatch is returning for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” as the Sorcerer Supreme after his 2016 debut, and subsequent appearances in “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also expected to reprise their roles from the original film as, respectively, fellow sorcerer Wong and Strange’s compatriot-turned-nemesis Karl Mordo. And Elizabeth Olsen has been tapped to reprise her role as Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff.

Rachel McAdams, however, will not reprise her role as Strange’s colleague Christine Palmer.

Disney, like every other major studio, has had to overhaul its release calendar in the wake of theater closures and production shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic. Among its major delays: “Mulan,” which was supposed to debut on March 27 and is now scheduled for July 24; “Black Widow,” the Marvel prequel that was moved from May 1 to Nov. 6, taking a spot vacated by “The Eternals,” which is now set for Feb. 12, 2021; and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which moved from Feb. 12, 2021, to May 7, 2021.