The last two years have proven to be continually challenging for those in the movie and TV industry, whether due to Covid lockdowns, positive tests, or travel restrictions. Even when things seemed to be getting back to some kind of normality, filmmakers and actors have been forced to adjust their working practices. They have often found their work restricted through the need to wear masks, isolate or observe social distancing. Marvel Studios head of productionVictoria Alonsorecently broke down exactly how tough working through the pandemic has been for everyone involved in productions. In a translation fromPeople En Espanol via The Direct, Alonso explained:
“It’s not easy, not only on a personal level, but [on a business level] when you are in charge of so many people. [At the start of the pandemic], there was so much uncertainty and people didn’t know if we were going to work, as everything was closed for a long time. Although we continued working, there were people who had to stop working and couldn’t get paid. Those were very difficult times, and when what [Marvel Studios] have created is a great family, it’s painful. These are things that hurt you and are difficult if you care about people who work for you and care about who they are. If they are numbers, no, but in the way that I do things, my way of leading affects me.”
The last few months have seen movies likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessreturning to filming for reshoots, some of which were to replace shots originally recorded during stricter Covid restrictions that hindered the quality of the final cut. Over the last few months, both Marvel Studios and, more recently, Warner Bros. have reshuffled their upcoming release scheduled to accommodate the extra time required to catch up with work that became held up due to the pandemic. Discussing how she believes her team has adapted well to a new approach to working, Alonso continued:
“And it seems to me that [the pandemic] has now given us a different approach. For me, I have grown a lot, and being able to have done it with a lot of patience, with a lot of love and a lot of desire, I think it has been a great gift that I have given myself, that COVID gave me. At the time it was happening to me, it didn’t seem like a great gift to me, I’ll be honest with you [laughs], but today after seeing everything we’ve been through in recent years…”
Related:Doctor Strange 2 Is Still Undergoing Reshoots
Like many other studios, Marvel has had to work around many challenging events in the last two years to ensure they kept to some kind of schedule while working against an unknown entity. With some productions having to shut down for up to a month, and individual actors and crew being lost for weeks due to isolation protocols, all of Marvel’s upcoming projects have been impacted in some way.
Principal photography onMoon Knight, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ms. Marveland more have all taken place in a changing cycle or rules and regulations aimed at keeping people safe and restricting the spread of Covid unnecessarily. For that reason, Marvel’s entire 2022 movie release schedule was pushed back by around three months, and although their Disney+ TV shows did not have set dates to be moved, it is likely that at least some of the upcoming series such asShe-Hulkand the now-filmingSecret Invasionhave had a short delay to ensure post-production work can be completed.
Moon Knightwill be Marvel’s first release of 2022 on Disney+ on March 30th, while their first cinematic release looks to build on the expanding multiverse, withDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessmaking its debut on May 6th.
