‘Black Widow’ Delayed to Summer 2021
Black Widow is not coming out this year.
With the United States recently passing 200,000 deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, and cases continuing to rise every single day, it’s looking less and less likely that movie theaters will return to normal any time this year. Tenet’s weak box-office performance since early September has spurred numerous studios to push back the rest of their 2020 blockbuster lineup. Today, Disney announced a slew of changes, none bigger than Black Widow, which is now delayed until next year.
The film, the first in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was originally scheduled for release on May 1, 2020. The pandemic made that impossible, so Marvel delayed the film to November. With the situation only slightly improved, Marvel basically had no choice but to delay the film again, to May 7, 2021. That means the film will now open in theaters a full year after originally planned — and that’s under the best of circumstances.
According to Variety, a bunch of other MCU movies are moving back as a result:
Due to the interconnected nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Black Widow’s” move shifted back other installments in the superhero franchise. “Eternals,” a comic book adventure about a super-powered alien race, will debut on Nov. 5, 2021. It was previously dated for Feb. 12, 2021. Chloé Zhao directed the film, which stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan and Kumail Nanjiani.
This news tells you that whatever Mulan made on Disney+ as a “premium” rental, it wasn’t enough to convince Marvel and Disney to release Black Widow the same way. Movies this big need theaters to recoup their investment. Which means that we could be waiting a very long time to see a new Marvel movie.
Gallery — Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best: