It is now been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios that Black Widow, which was originally scheduled for May 1st, 2020 and later to November 6th, has been fully delayed to next year on May 7th, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The other confirmed delays for Marvel include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, originally set for February 12th, 2021 (the first day of Chinese New Year) and later May 7th, now being released on July 9th, 2021 and Eternals, originally set for November 6th, 2020 and later February 12th, 2021, now being released on November 5th, 2021.
With Black Widow and Eternals being pushed to 2021, this year will mark the first time since 2009 in which Marvel Studios has not released a new movie onto theaters (not counting X-Men: Origins Wolverine since that’s was produced by Fox long before the merge with Disney so it’s technically not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Apart from some tv properties such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which just got done with its final season) and the new WANDAVISION series exclusively for Disney Plus (which comes out in December 2020) along with The New Mutants (which just quietly snuck its way into empty-seated theaters nearly three full years after its first trailer came out), this will seem to be a rather silent year for Marvel.
On one hand, it gives the universe the much-needed break from cinema it so truly needed. After the past decade from releasing at least one movie a year to wanting to release up to not one, not two, not even three, but four movies a year (Yes, really!) from 2021 and beyond, there’s a big chance that fatigue might have come in from longtime fans and mainstream audiences. There’s also the undeniable replanning for the franchise’s future due to the incredibly unfortunate death of the Black Panther himself, Chadwick Bosman (May you rest in peace, good sir!) and still the concern of filling up theatre seats with Covid-19 still in affect with a proper vaccine still yet to be implemented. Putting all those factors into mind, this is definitely the best possible decision from Disney and Marvel.
On the other hand, this does make it abundantly clear that Hollywood might just be done with releasing big movies for the rest of 2020. Though majorly anticipated flicks such as the next James Bond movie, No Time to Die (November 20th), Disney Pixar’s Soul (also November 20th), and DC Comics/Warner Bros’s Wonder Woman 1984 (December 25th) are still scheduled to be released this year, there can be no guarantee that the studios behind those films will stay the course. If clear/potential billion-dollar grossers like those three Marvel movies don’t have fate to release their films until next year, then what does that say about any other potential big box office hits for the rest of this year? Or ones that are projected to bomb like Dune or Death of the Nile (both still scheduled for December 18th)? Or ones that have tried to release their movies during these quarantine times like Tenet and will most likely not even get its full money back (As of September 27th, only grossing $283 million with a $200 million budget). The simple answer: Not much.
But you’ve heard it again. The next three Marvel movies, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals, have all been pushed back to next year. Black Widow is now set to be released on May 7th, 2021, Shang-Chi on July 9th, 2021, and Eternals on November 5th, 2021. Let’s pray theaters are still around by the time all of these are scheduled to come out!
Adam's Blog 