As it turns out, Marvel Studios might not be able to finish filming in Prague after all. Friday, the European Union announced it was banning travelers from the United States due to the ever-expanding number of coronavirus infections in the country. Though the EU will once again welcome travelers from other countries beginning July 1st, the United States is one of the countries on the government’s banned travelers list. Marvel had previously been filming The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in the Czech Republic, a member of the European Union and a country likely adhering to the advice the EU is handing down.
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What’s that mean for the upcoming Disney+ show? It could mean a whole lot of things — the biggest, of which, being the series won’t be able to finish the scenes it had planned on filming in Prague. Earlier this month, a casting agency had teased the imminent restart of production, which is evidently not happening.
Should that be the case, Marvel Studios could attempt to recreate the set pieces it was using on sound stages stateside, say like at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios. Even then, the expanding cases in states that were quick to reopen have now caused situations in which reopening plans have been paused. In Texas, the state paused its reopening plan entirely while Florida is prohibiting bars from selling alcohol in an attempt to keep the crowds home.
If Marvel Studios were to do that, they’d have to build the set pieces fast and film fast in case of another potential shutdown.
Since an investor’s call earlier in the year, we know Disney originally intended to release the series on Disney+ sometime in August. Though The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was close to done filming with production shutdowns were ordered in March, series star Anthony Mackie previously admitted there were still a few weeks left of production to film.
“We have a little bit more to go back and do, but everybody rest assured, it will come out. We are not cancelled,” Mackie said. “Because you know, in this business, ‘Take a little break, we’ll come back to it,’ that means they’re never coming back to it [laughs]. I was like, ‘Man, I was Captain America for all of two weeks, this sucks! How did I get fired on my day off?’”
Eventually, one has to think when Marvel Studios and Disney will officially move to delay its Disney+ productions. Between The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, neither series is completely done with filming, and as cases begin to peak once again, it’s entirely possible the industry is headed towards another shutdown — not that the first one ever truly lifted.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is currently scheduled for release in August.
Do you think the series will eventually get delayed? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!
