FridayMar132020
Marvel Studios(NEW YORK) — Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes have met their match against a new villain: the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The pandemic has affected shooting of both Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the big-screen film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Thursday evening, MCU star Sebastian Stan announced on Instagram that production on his Disney+ show was leaving its shooting location in Prague over COVID-19 concerns.
Captioning a stunning city picture, Stan noted, "We’ve been shooting #TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier and experiencing one of the most beautiful cities in the world filled with the most wonderful and welcoming people. Now we are being sent home." The actor followed it with the surgical mask-wearing emoji.
"Too soon," he added.
Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the MCU said, "Prague, you’re gonna be in my thoughts for a long time. Thank you. Will be back. Thinking of you." He closed with a heart emoji and, "#BuckytakesEurope."
Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter notes that the director of Shang-Chi, Destin Daniel Cretton, has self-isolated on the recommendation of a doctor in Australia. Cretton is a new father, and the set source says the decision was made for him to do so "out of an abundance of caution," until he can be tested for the virus.
The action film's second unit — generally the stunt team — is still working, as are some other departments, though shooting has been suspended temporarily.
Incidentally, this is the second Australia-based film to be affected by COVID-19: as previously reported, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive while Hanks was shooting an Elvis Presley biopic Down Under.
Australia has nearly 160 confirmed cases of the virus at last word.
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