A few weeks ago, we learned that Black Widow wouldn’t be arriving in May as originally planned – yet another major blockbuster delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Now Disney has confirmed exactly when we’ll be seeing Natasha Romanoff’s long-awaited solo movie, and has shifted around several other Marvel release dates in the upcoming Phase 4 to accommodate its later release.
Black Widow is now due to arrive on 6 November, a week or so before the arrival of delayed James Bond movie No Time To Die – clearly the studios are banking on the final months of 2020 as a safe time to plant their biggest flags. That November release slot was originally due to be held by Marvel’s cosmic adventure Eternals, which now shifts back a few months to 12 February 2021, causing Shang-Chi to nudge back into summer season on 7 May 2021. At present, the next live-action Spider-Man movie is holding fast on its 16 July 2021 release date – but is yet to go into production.
Further down the line, this also means delays for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (currently thought to have Sam Raimi as its director), now sitting at 5 November 2021, pushing Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder back to 28 February 2022. Black Panther 2 has a new release date of 8 May 2022.
If the wait for Black Widow is sure to feel long (our last Marvel instalment was last summer’s *Spider-Man: Far From Home), the good news for fans is that 2021 is now set to feature four new Marvel movies – plus, presumably, more Marvel series on Disney+. Bring it on.