Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man film, and the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have all been delayed. However, Thor: Love and Thunder will arrive a bit earlier than originally expected.
According to Deadline, Spider-Man 3 has been pushed from July 16, 2021, to Nov. 5, 2021. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 has slipped from April 8, 2022, to Oct. 7, 2022. Interestingly, this puts the third Spider-Man movie in the slot originally occupied by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, Sam Raimi's sequel to Scott Derrickson's origin movie has now moved to March 25, 2022. The delays might not be huge, but it nudges Multiverse of Madness into 2022 instead of 2021. As far as Love and Thunder goes, the sequel to director Taika Waititi's Thor: Rangarok will now arrive on Feb. 11, 2022, one week earlier than its previous release date of Feb. 18.
As well as Benedict Cumberbatch making his mark on the MCU in 2016's Doctor Strange, the character appeared in Thor: Ragnarok and had a crucial role in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Chris Hemsworth's Thor remains a cornerstone of the world's highest-grossing franchise and is one of the few OG Avengers still poised to continue being part of the team in a post-Endgame world. Spider-Man has a complicated past with Disney thanks to a rights squabble with Sony, but either way, Holland is set to reprise his role -- having previously starred Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Infinity War and Endgame.
Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might be the black sheep of the family, as Marvel Studios is not involved with it, but with the animated movie finally giving Miles Morales his time on the silver screen, 2018's movie was a verified hit that was quickly given the green light for a sequel. All these movies were in their early stages, and with COVID-19 shutting down production across Hollywood, it sounds like Disney and Sony are playing a game of better safe than sorry when it comes to getting fan's hopes up. Still, at least Thor: Love and Thunder's early release should help ease the pain that the rest are facing delays.