Disney has delayed release plans for several upcoming films, including “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” from March 25, 2022 to May 6, 2022, “Thor: Love and Thunder” from May 6, 2022 to July 8, 2022 and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” from July 8, 2022 to November 11, 2022. With the “Black Panther” sequel jumping to November, “The Marvels” has been postponed to early 2023 and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” was bumped from February 17, 2023 to July 28, 2023.

Along with the deluge of Marvel delays, Disney has moved the fifth “Indiana Jones” installment back nearly a year. The still-untitled film, starring Harrison Ford as the fedora-wearing, swashbuckling archaeologist, will open on June 30, 2023 instead of July 29, 2022.

The major release date shuffle comes after Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” cemented its place as a box-office hit and ahead of “Eternals,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe entry that is scheduled for November 5, 2021. The scheduling overhaul is related to production and not box-office returns, according to sources at Disney.

The next “Black Panther” entry, for one, is still filming in Atlanta. Since Marvel has become an interconnected and meticulously planned universe — which spans dozens of film and several new television series — any production delay causes a domino effect on the rest of the franchise.

As for “Indiana Jones,” the 79-year-old Ford sustained a shoulder injury on set in June, requiring the actor to take a break from filming while he healed. Though director James Mangold continued to shoot without Ford, there are a limited amount of scenes that don’t involve the adventurer. Ford has since recovered and returned to set.

Four untitled 2023 movies from Marvel, 20th Century and Disney’s live-action division, have been removed from the calendar, while one untitled Marvel movie has relocated from November 10 to November 3, 2023.

COVID-19 has shaken up the way studios release their biggest movies, with many major tentpoles bucking tradition to land simultaneously in theaters and on digital platforms. After putting “Black Widow” starring Scarlett Johansson, “101 Dalmatians” prequel “Cruella” and animated adventure “Raya and the Last Dragon” on Disney+ on the same day as their respective theatrical premieres, the studio has reaffirmed its commitment to the big screen.

(SD-Agencies)