It sounds like Disney is prepping for another Black Widow (opens in new tab) delay. The Marvel movie was originally set to release in May, but was delayed (opens in new tab) to November due to the ongoing pandemic.
According to a Variety (opens in new tab) report, multiple people with knowledge of the situation say Disney is “likely” to delay Black Widow again. This comes as the movie theater industry continues to grapple with state and local guidelines designed to curb the spread of coronavirus. Even if theaters are permitted to open in certain areas, not even a new Marvel epic is likely to generate ticket sales like it would in a post-pandemic world.
Just a few days ago, another hotly-anticipated superhero movie was delayed: Wonder Woman 1984 (opens in new tab), which has been moved (opens in new tab) from its original October 2 release to now premiere on Christmas day. Of course, movie release dates (opens in new tab) in 2020 more generally have been shuffled all around the place in the wake of the pandemic.
Hot on the heels of the first Black Widow delay, our sister publication Total Film caught up with Scarlett Johansson on Black Widow and its unique position in Marvel Phase 4 (opens in new tab). “I think part of Kevin Feige’s genius is that he always thinks about what fans expect out of these films and then gives them something that they never could’ve dreamed of,” said Johansson. “The idea of Natasha Romanoff in a family drama is the least expected thing, and I had to wrap my head around what that was going to be because there’s such a big tonal shift.”
Here’s all the upcoming movies of 2020 (opens in new tab) we can’t wait to see.