Skip to main content

Doctor Strange 2's Release Date Shift Changed Spider-Man: No Way Home's Plot

Juggling release dates.
Image: Marvel Studios

Release dates rarely, if ever, have an impact on storytelling. Maybe a movie is set during a specific holiday so a studio wants to release it around that time of year. But even then, you can watch a Halloween or Christmas movie anytime you want. One place where release dates have everything to do with story, though, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and recently, two films changed entirely due to a shift in dates.

Those two movies are Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Whether you’ve seen No Way Home or not, Strange’s new trailer clearly shows what the character learns in Spider-Man: No Way Home impacts his journey in his new film. Like, literally, one film can’t happen without the events of the other. Only, that wasn’t originally the case.

For a long time, Doctor Strange 2 was supposed to come out before Spider-Man: No Way Home. Originally, Doctor Strange 2 was scheduled for May 2021 and Spider-Man just two months later. When both were first moved due to covid, Strange moved to November and Spider-Man to December, which kept the order intact. Eventually though, that shifted again and Spider-Man was set to come before Doctor Strange. Which kiiiiinda posed a problem considering the plots were so intricately connected.

“We were actually working off of things that were happening in Doctor Strange 2, and trying to incorporate them into our script,” No Way Home co-writer Chris McKenna told Variety. “When we started writing, [Strange] knows firsthand the dangers of screwing with these things. Then we changed it so he was a person who doesn’t know that much about the multiverse. But that makes it even more frightening, to start fooling around with these things, because it’s the fear of the unknown. Either way, he was the voice of reason going, ‘You don’t mess with the fate of an individual’—and Peter Parker being naive enough to go, ‘Why not? Why can’t we save these people?’”

And so they flipped it and the rest is history. Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the biggest hits in recent Hollywood memory and has become an even better lead-in to the Strange sequel. Still, you have to wonder how No Way Home would have been different if Strange had already had a multiverse adventure beforehand. Would he have even made the same mistake? Could he have figured out a better solution? Either way, we’ll never know, but it’s certainly fun to think about how a mere move on the calendar changed two entire movies.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now in theaters. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be out May 6, 2022.

Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new up one here.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Only Version of Return of the King Worth Watching Missing From Max After Streaming Bug

Screenshot: Warner Bros. Bad news for Max subscribers who’ve made re-watching The Lord of the Rings extended editions an annual New Year tradition: the third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King — which just celebrated its 20th anniversary! —is only available to stream in its theatrical version. No ancient evil is to blame, thankfully; it’s an unspecified “tech issue,” according to a Max spokesperson who responded to a comment request from Vulture after the issue was noted by dismayed fans on Reddit . The fact that The Return of the King extended edition is merely temporarily unavailable is actually good news given Max’s track record for removing content in the past, and the explanation makes sense considering The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers remain available in both their theatrical and extended editions. The Max spokesperson assured Vulture that The Return of the King extended edition will be, ah, returning soon to the service, though as of this writing i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unicorn Jerky Is Not Only the Perfect Name for a CBD Candy Edible, It's Also 20% Off, and Proceeds Go to The Trevor Project [Exclusive]

Unicorn Jerky CBD Candy | $24 | Sunday Scaries | Promo Code UJSUPPORT20 Unicorn Jerky (Subscribe & Save) | $19 | Sunday Scaries | Promo Code UJSUPPORT20 Read more...
Post a Comment
Read more

You Can Visit Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in Hollywood

Image: Universal Pictures Just in time for Halloween and for the release of Blumhouse and Universal Pictures’ Five Nights at Freddy ’s fans can visit a pop-up location of the fictional franchise from the game and film. That’s right, a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza has mysteriously appeared in Hollywood. Like in the game and upcoming film, it’s a run-down spot that’s been closed down due to some mysterious activity within. Unfortunately, you can’t actually go in unless you’re hired as a security guard (kidding)—it’s just a facade for photo-ops you can visit. Check out the video captured by deadboifilms on TikTok below at the location on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood (near the Chateau Marmont Hotel). If you want to encounter the animatronic band of fuzzy and totally friendly creatures from the game, you’ll have to visit Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights, there’s a walk-through in the DreamWorks theater lobby that’s been taken over by Blumhouse which features the real Jim ...
Post a Comment
Read more