As the coronavirus outbreak rages on, bringing Hollywood and many other industries to a standstill, the recent news that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next installment, Black Widow, would be delayed indefinitely came as little surprise. It is now being reported though that this delay will not affect the MCU Phase 4 timeline in any way.
According to a source close to Marvel, the delayed release of Black Widow will not alter the current Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Due to the movie being a prequel, there is less involved in the story that would have a direct effect on future Marvel events. As of right now, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is scheduled to release on Disney+ in August, with The Eternals due in theaters on November 6, followed by WandaVision which will be released on Disney+ in December of this year.
One of the most impressive things about the MCU is the way all of the events are intertwined, and Marvel has frequently made comments about this element with regards to the future of the MCU. it has been stated that WandaVision will be closely tied to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and soon-to-be-introduced characters like Ms. Marvel will be jumping between the big and small screen projects. This statement could suggest that Black Widow stands on its own and does not necessarily need to be released before the rest of Phase 4, or it could mean that Disney is confident the movie will be out before this becomes an issue.
Of course, it could just be that Marvel will push everything back in order to accommodate the eventual release of Black Widow. At present, the future of the MCU and how things will play out is a little uncertain amid the coronavirus concerns, and no one can be sure what will happen in the next few months. It is possible that Marvel will need to push back the release of more movies and TV shows, but right now they remain confident that Phase 4 will go on as Marvel originally intended it to.
Black Widow is not the only movie that Disney has been forced to delay, with the likes of the fantasy epic Mulan and the comic book movie New Mutants also pushed back, as well as The Woman in the Window, and The Personal History of David Copperfield, with new release dates to be announced later.
Black Widow picks up after the events of Captain America: Civil War back in 2016, with Natasha Romanoff finding herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. The movie is being directed by Cate Shortland and stars Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz.
The movie was originally scheduled for release on May 1, 2020, but currently has no release date in place. This comes to us courtesy of Variety.
