Marvel’s new Disney+ exclusive miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has had filming delays after recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was announced back in October 2018 as part of Marvel’s participation in the recently launched Disney+ streaming platform. Disney+ launched barely two months ago on November 12, 2019, and made big waves with its first major exclusive, The Mandalorian season one (which recently came to a close).

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will follow Falcon aka Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie) and the Winter Soldier aka Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Some details have come out about the plot, including the involvement of an evil Captain America (though exactly what an evil Captain America entails is not yet clear), but we do know that Baron Zemo is making a return as a villain. We also know that part of the plot will involve U.S. government resistance to Falcon/Sam Wilson taking over the title of Captain America (as suggested during the ending of Avengers: Endgame), and that Bucky Barnes will be moving on from his role as the Winter Soldier to becoming the White Wolf, meaning the title of this series might be a bit of a joke in referring to characters which will no longer exist in its storyline.

Recent earthquakes have caused serious damage, injury, and death in Puerto Rico, especially in the Arecibo region. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been filming in Atlanta lately and was scheduled to move to shooting on location in Puerto Rico for the next stage of filming, but those plans have either been cancelled or delayed because of the earthquakes. CBR reports on FWSupdates, an unofficial fan twitter account detailing the filming progress, with a mention that the famous Arecibo radio telescope has also been turned off in the aftermath of the quakes. Deadline is also confirming the news about the filming delay.

Whether filming will continue in Atlanta or halt is unclear, and so is whether or not the plans to film in Puerto Rico are only delayed or permanently cancelled, and if delayed how long the delay could last. Puerto Rico has been hit by multiple major storms and repeated earthquakes within the last few years, leaving the territory in a precarious position and struggling to recover for lack of access to overseas support or significant disaster relief from Washington, D.C.

Currently The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to premiere on Disney+ sometime in the Fall of 2020, which is a broad enough window that filming delays may not impact it too severely. If Puerto Rico can receive adequate disaster relief in the near future, its possible that filming could resume after only a brief delay.

More: Anthony Mackie Says Again That He’s Still (& Always Will Be) Falcon

Source: FWSupdates (Twitter) via CBR, Deadline

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