Black Widow lands November release date, pushes back other Marvel movies
After being delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19, Black Widow has gotten a new release date — and pushed back several other films in the MCU’s Phase 4.
Marvel Studios’ Black Widow is one of the many films to be pushed from a spring release date over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, though until yesterday, Marvel fans weren’t sure when they’d see Natasha’s backstory hit the big screen. With so much uncertainty about the current situation, many releases are being put indefinitely on hold — but it looks like Disney has made some decisions about its new schedule, especially when it comes to Mavel films.
Yesterday, it was announced that Black Widow would take the November 6 release date originally held by The Eternals, pushing the latter film to a 2021 release date instead. And Black Widow‘s later debut seems to have had a ripple effect when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as The Eternals now holds the February 12, 2021 date that once belonged to Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has moved into the May 7, 2021 slot originally intended for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the Doctor Strange sequel is now hitting theaters on November 5, 2021, when Thor: Love and Thunder was scheduled to. That means fans will be waiting until 2022 to see the fourth Thor film — but luckily, it doesn’t seem the shift has affected any of the movies beyond Thor: Love and Thunder.
Although Black Widow is set before the events of Avengers: Endgame and likely doesn’t heavily impact the Phase 4 films that will follow, it makes sense that Disney and Marvel Studios would want to get back on track with their schedule following the recent blow to their spring and summer premieres. These delays will give the studios some time to regroup after the health crisis, and they’ll allow the creative teams behind the later MCU projects to catch up after halting production.
As for Marvel fans, this just means we’ll have to wait a little longer to say farewell to Natasha Romanoff once and for all. And while it’s later than planned, it’s nice that she’s still getting the theatrical sendoff she deserves.
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