History Main / ProductionLeadTime

** "Cy and Beasty" was likely produced with the release of ''Film/TomAndJerry2021'' in mind, but came out in August 2021, six months after its' theatrical release.

* Creator/EdAsner died in August 2021, but he had already recorded his dialogue for the entirety of what ended up being his final time playing [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} Carl Fredricksen]] in the spin-off/sequel short series ''WesternAnimation/DugDays'' and ''WesternAnimation/CarlsDate''. The former was released mere days after Asner's death, while the latter would be released in 2023, nearly two years later.

** ''[[Recap/FamilyGuyS10E6Thanksgiving Thanksgiving]]'' revolves around Kevin Swanson abandoning his post during the Iraq War. The war had actually ended about a month before the episode premiered.

** ''[[Recap/FamikyGuyS10E6Thanksgiving Thanksgiving]]'' revolves around Kevin Swanson abandoning his post during the Iraq War. The war had actually ended about a month before the episode premiered.

* The October 2018 game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' uses the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 old 2012]] designs for the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, not their ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' designs, due to that series premiering in October 2018. Oddly, the sequel still uses the 2012 designs, while all Nickelodeon games since 2021's ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' feature the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 1987 designs]]. This makes 2019's ''Super Brawl Universe'' (a mobile game, rather than a proper console release) the only Nickelodeon game to feature the ''Rise'' designs.

* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} is included in ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'', but because Nickelodeon had yet to announce details about his Nicktoon adaptation, his moveset mostly references the newspaper comic, previous video game appearances, and ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends''. His inclusion in the game wasn't necessarily about promoting an upcoming show anyway; rather, it was simply because [[AwesomeDearBoy the devs wanted to include him]].

* The October 2018 game ''VideoGame/NickelodeonKartRacers'' uses the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 old 2012]] designs for the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, not their ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' (which premiered in September 2018) designs. Oddly, the sequel still uses the 2012 designs, while 2021's ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'', 2022's ''Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis'' and 2022's ''Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway'' use the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 1987 designs]], with 2019's ''Super Brawl Universe'' being the only game to use the ''Rise'' designs.

* Although ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu'' was released well after ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunandMoon Pokémon Sun and Moon]]'' came out, no Pokémon from those games appear in the first three chapters. This is because it's been in development since at least 2013, when ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXandY Pokémon X and Y]]'' were the most recent games and thus those chapters were written with that in mind. The fourth chapter and onwards do contain Pokémon introduced in Sun and Moon, although in a slightly smaller amount compared to those introduced in other games.
* ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachuReturns'' was announced in May of 2019 and released in October of 2023. This trope applies here even more than in its predecessor, as it contains no Pokémon from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonScarletandViolet Pokémon Scarlet and Violet]]'' in any regard.

* Although ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu'' was released well after ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunandMoon Pokémon Sun and Moon]]'' came out, no Pokémon from those games appear in the first three chapters. This is because it's been in development since at least 2013, when ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXandY Pokémon X and Y]]'' were the most recent games and thus those chapters were written with that in mind. The fourth chapter and onwards do contain Pokémon introduced in Sun and Moon, although in a slightly smaller amount compared to Pokémon introduced in other games.

* Although ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu'' was released well after ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunandMoon Pokémon Sun and Moon]]'' came out, no Pokémon from that game appear in the first three chapters. This is because it's been in development since at least 2013, when ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXandY Pokémon X and Y]]'' were the most recent games and thus those chapters were written with that in mind. The fourth chapter and onwards do contain Pokémon introduced in Sun and Moon, although not as many compared to Pokémon introduced in other games.
* ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachuReturns'' was announced in May of 2019 and released in October of 2023, yet it contains no Pokémon from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonScarletandViolet Pokémon Scarlet and Violet]]'' in any regard.

** The sequel, ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachuReturns'' stands out even more in this regard. Being announced in May of 2019 and released in October of 2023, it contains no Pokémon from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonScarletandViolet Pokémon Scarlet and Violet]]'' in any regard.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** At the beginning of developing a ''Super Smash Bros.'' game, the team naturally decides on a project plan for the general concept of the game, which includes modes, changes to the battle system, and characters. The typical development cycle is a little above 2 years for each game, so the final product tends to feature characters or references that have become less relevant once the game is released (or completely lack ones that fans would expect). They do attempt to avert this by asking other Nintendo development teams about what they're working on, but since those projects are ''also'' in the midst of development, that can cause some issues in and of itself.
** In particular, this is the reason why ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' has very little in the way of [=GameCube=]-era content -- only having a trophy referencing ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' and another referencing ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'' -- and why Roy is a HotBlooded MovesetClone of Marth, in contrast to his portrayal in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade his own game]] (because it was still being made, and they only had concept art to work with).

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', due to having a short development period and having many of its planned contents decided almost from the beginning, got hit by this in various fronts:
*** Despite ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' coming out a year and a half before ''Ultimate'', ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' content is almost entirely based on the first game, with ''2'''s inclusion being limited to a pair of Mii costumes and content taken directly from the original game (such as music and spirits). Notably, the Inkling character itself has zero reference to the second game, with their Final Smash being a move that was cut altogether from the sequels.

*** Many of the DLC characters took years of negotiating to include, and as a result not all of them are portrayed in a manner that corresponded to then-current developments. For instance, [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora]], who was released in 2021 but in negotiations since the Smash Ballot in 2015, only minimally references ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', which was released in 2019.

* Happens a lot in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. Sometimes three to five years will pass between the initial announcement of a project and the theatrical release of the movie, thus occasionally having the final picture entering into a social or economic market for which it is ill prepared.
** In the early 1990s it was not rare for Disney to include rough pencil tests and storyboards in the trailers for their movies, simply because there wasn't enough finished footage to make a complete trailer. This practice seems to have stopped, probably because it looks sloppy. The response has been to make initial teaser trailers merely describing the premise of the film using little to no footage from the actual movie, creating a custom short. Both ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' did this.
** One of the reasons ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' underwent a ReTool was that it was locked into a 2000 release date thanks to a [[KidsMealToy McDonald's tie-in]], but by 1998 it was clear that the [[TroubledProduction film in its then-current form]] wouldn't be ready by then.

* The song "Gangnam Style" appears in the end credits of ''WesternAnimation/TheNutJob'', (complete with a CGI-animated PSY singing it) which was released in January 2014...almost 2 years after that song was hugely popular!

* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' had an episode against music piracy, with the website at the center of it being heavily based on peer-to-peer file sharing site Napster (and ''Film/TheMatrix''). By the time the episode came out, Napster (well, the original brand) was forcibly shut down just months prior.

** They did something similar in "American Gigg-olo" with the Donald Trump tapes, dubbing it (and Peter's reaction) over footage of the bus. Like the above example, it too was cut from later airings and the DVD release and was replaced by a cutaway involving an animal sobriety checkpoint.
** Played straight with "Hannah Banana", which aired two years after the event it adapts (the "Best of Both Worlds" concert tour that was notorious for selling out nationwide almost ''immediately'' after tickets went on sale).
** An alternate scene from the animatic of "Back to the Pilot" was likely altered for this reason. In the alternate timeline where Brian is the author of the Harry Potter series, rather than Lois saying a pseudo-spell phrase, she said that she couldn't wait for the next book. This episode came out in 2011, well after the last book and movie had come out.
** "Ratings Guy" has Mayor West destroy all of Peter's Nielsen boxes after he added a second tree to ''Series/OneTreeHill''. That show had actually aired its final season at the start of 2012, well before this episode premiered.

** The opening to "The Juice is Loose" claims as much, stating that it was a "lost" episode from 2007, ostensibly because by the time it aired in March 2009, its subject matter - Creator/OJSimpson moving into Quahog and becoming friends with Peter, who then has to convince the rest of the town that he's not as bad as the 1994 murder trials made him out to be - was [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece already dated]], with Simpson having been jailed just a few months prior over armed robbery and kidnapping.
** "Stewie's First Word" has Peter asking a Magic 8-Ball if Fox is viable in an age of streaming; to which it responds by exploding. The episode was produced for season 18 but aired as part of in season 19, at which point, it aired after Fox Corporation acquired Creator/{{Tubi}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Each episode was completed in 2-3 weeks, resulting in the series being finished at the end of 2003, but it could take years for an episode to finally air. Season 3 occasionally featured a song similar to [[Music/OutKast "Hey Ya!"]] in montage scenes, and the episode "Lights! Camera! Danger!" doesn't reference any movie newer than ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' and has a ShoutOut to ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' after ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'' killed its popularity.

** According to Al Jean, this was why the show largely avoided making any political jokes during seasons 13 (2001-02) and 14 (2002-03), [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents as the September 11th attacks left politics in such a volatile state that they didn't want any episodes to instantly become dated]]. The only episode during that time that truly satirized American politics was season 14's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E14MrSprtizGoesToWashington Mr. Spritz Goes To Washington]]", which skewers the UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem as a whole more than anything else.

** They make it obvious on some occasions, such as the Super Bowl episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"; the names of the teams were only said once, with Homer's and Moe's mouths covered, and the overdub doesn't match the scene's audio. They also took some potshots at the then-current Lewinsky scandal, where the status of Bill Clinton's presidency was clearly overdubbed as well as the status of his marriage.
** They ''try'' to overcome it with overdubs and lampshade hanging, but they still fall victim to this trope big time. Combined with the occasional tendency of episodes to air a season or more after they were completed -- due to Fox's seasons and ''Simpsons'' production seasons not always lining up -- this trope has (for instance) caused parody episodes to be released ''years'' after the works they were mocking. Case in point, "Simpson Tide", a parody of the 1995 film ''Crimson Tide'', was first shown in 1998[[note]]The episode was actually produced as part of the 1995-96 season, but was held over for a very long time[[/note]].

** "Bart To The Future" features a bizarre example looping from a straight example into an aversion, with an infamous joke about a UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump presidency in the distant future. At the time the episode was made, Trump was seeking the Reform Party's 2000 presidential nomination. But by its premiere in March 2000, Trump already suspended his campaign. It became an aversion after he was actually elected president in the 2016 election.
** According to Al Jean, this was why the show largely avoided making any political jokes during seasons 13 (2001-02) and 14 (2002-03), [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents as the September 11th attacks left politics in such a volatile state that they didn't want any episodes to instantly become dated]]. The only episode during that time that truly satirized American politics was season 14's "Mr. Spritz Goes To Washington", which skewers the UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem as a whole more than anything else.

** Creator/IanAbercrombie passed away in early 2012, but had already completed recording most of his lines as Palpatine/Darth Sidious for the show's fifth season with the exception of two lines that were dubbed by his successor Creator/TimCurry. The final episode of Season 5 is when Curry fully takes over the role with one exception: an arc in Season 6 that was originally meant to air in Season 5 but got pushed back, produced and recorded before Abercrombie's passing and the subsequent recasting.
** When it was announced in 2018 that ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' was being [[UnCancelled revived for a seventh season]], accusations were lodged at Disney that the company was only bringing back the series to distract from the recent BrokenBase receptions of ''Film/TheLastJedi'' and ''[[Film/SoloAStarWarsStory Solo]]''. However, when the ''Clone Wars'' announcement was made in the months following the latter release, the reveal trailer featured fully-animated footage from one of the episodes, indicating that the revival had been planned for some time and was already in development.

** The episode "Ocean's 3½" managed to do a joke about Christian Bale's ClusterFBomb within two weeks after the audio was first released, by quickly animating a reel-to-reel tape player playing clips of said outburst interspliced with Peter Griffin reacting as if he were the one Bale was berating. This was cut out in later airings of the episode and the DVD release, and was replaced with Quagmire's cutaway involving wanting to make an underwhelming thriller starring Jeff Bridges and Laura Linney.

** The episode "Chris Has Got A Date Date Date Date Date" mocks Music/TaylorSwift for only writing melodramatic breakup songs. That sort of joke was quite popular circa 2010-2013. However, the episode came out in ''2016'', by which point Taylor's ''Music/NineteenEightyNine'' album had subverted and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] her old formulas to a sufficient point that most no longer saw them as relevant.

[[folder:Toys]]
* As of the 2020’s, it takes roughly two years for a new ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toy to go from design to being sold on the shelves. The absolute deadline for a design to be finalized for a toy is roughly a year. By 2022, Hasbro noticed divisive to negative reception from fans disappointed with the redesigns of characters from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' who were receiving toys in the ''Legacy'' toyline, as the stylized character designs were toned down to look more like Sunbow animation models from ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Thus, they began to work hard to find a better compromise between the stylized designs of ''Prime'' as well as ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', which bore fruit in 2023 when new toys of ''Prime'' Skyquake, Dreadwing, and ''Animated'' Prowl leaned much more into them while still looking like they could fit among the rest of the toyline’s primarily G1 aesthetic.
[[/folder]]

That isn't to say a work that spent five years in development can't give an accurate picture of the social or political climate it is eventually released in, but due to the long lead time, it's much harder to be certain that whatever you're commentating on will still be relevant over a year later. The more specific the subject you want to reference, the more likely you'll find your audience baffled about why you're still talking about it when everyone else has moved on months ago, assuming they even ''remember'' it.

Can result in UnintentionalPeriodPiece if it ends up ''way'' behind on current events the time it is released. Compare TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment.