Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier won’t start streaming next month as originally planned. Filming was put on hold in March amid the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Disney released a list of what’s coming to the streaming platform next month, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a notable absentee. EW confirmed with a source that the premiere had been pushed back, though a new release date has yet to be announced.
The first-ever Marvel Cinematic Universe series from Disney+ was missing from the streaming service's slate for August revealed last Friday.
COVID-19 put a halt to filming on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on March 10 in the Czech Republic capital city of Prague as the pandemic swept through Europe. On May 7, the Czech Film Commission announced that international productions could resume mid-May, with a few requirements for all people involved: a negative test at the port of departure, and a quarantine period of up to 3 days while they wait for a second negative test in Czech Republic.
Towards the end of June, when the European Union banned flights from the US, the Czech Film Commission reassured Hollywood executives that the ban would not apply to filmmakers. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was planning to resume filming in “the coming months”, Variety said at the time.
Deadline claims the pandemic won't affect the second MCU Disney+ series — WandaVision — and it's expected to arrive in December as planned. That might be because WandaVision was mostly done with filming in March when COVID-19 hit productions globally. WandaVision was also expected to resume filming earlier in July in Los Angeles, though it's unclear if that manifested given the rising number of new cases in California.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as the titular superheroes — Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier — respectively, alongside Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Desmond Chiam, Miki Ishikawa, Noah Mills, and Carl Lumbly. Malcolm Spellman is the showrunner and head writer, with Kari Skogland as director.
WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in the lead as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision, respectively, alongside Kat Dennings, Randall Park, and Kathryn Hahn. Jac Schaeffer is the showrunner and head writer, with Matt Shakman as director.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision are two of several MCU Disney+ series, in addition to Tom Hiddleston-led Loki, Hawkeye with Jeremy Renner and possibly Hailee Steinfeld, and three more in development: Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.