Marvel’s eternally upcomingBlack Widowfilm has been granted yet another delay by Disney in a year where such setbacks are given out like cars onOprah. The media colossus is pushing back the anticipated movie starring Scarlett Johansson to May 7th 2021, putting over a year between its new release date and its originally planned debut of May 1st 2020. But Disney isn’t stopping there.
Aside fromBlack Widow, Disney’s round of pushbacks has also affectedEternalsandShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.Eternalswill lose its February 12th release date in favor of November 5th, 2021 whileShang-Chiis taking a much smaller bump from May 7th to July 9th 2021. Both had to adjust their schedules in order to maintain Disney’s planned order of release, which seesBlack Widowpremiering before either other film.
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Notably, Pixar’s next movie,Soul, appears to be sticking to its original November 20th 2020 debut, while also maintaining the plan to show it only in theaters. It seems apparent that Disney is not willing to apply theMulanmodel to all of its high-profile releases, even though the live-action remakeproved successfulwhen it released on Disney+.
Many other films from Disney’s 20th Century Studios have also shaken up their time frames in the process. Steven Spielberg’s intriguing adaptation of the classic musicalWest Side Story, originally slated to be unleashed upon the world in December 2020, has moved back a year to December 10th, 2021. Meanwhile,The Empty Manand Kenneth Branagh’sDeath on the Nileappear to be switching spaces in their late 2020 releases.Death on the Nilewill make a slight adjustment from October 23rd to December 18th, whileThe Empty Manrolls back from December 4th toNile’s original October date.
This shake up is unsurprising considering the multitude of production delays due to COVID-19. Though in this case, the delays seem to be more due to theater restrictions than anything else, with recent spikes in coronavirus casescausing local cinemas to shut downonce again. Disney is well known for always wanting to be in control, and with the theater industry in such an uncertain place, it’s only natural they would want to steer clear until things become more stable.
As an upside to all this, the many delays from Disney and other studios will ensure that audiences will have plenty to see and do once they’re able to return to some semblance of normalcy. The pandemic has halted so many productions that many are afraid of an entertainment drought in the near future, so hopefully this strategy of spreading things out (whether intentional or otherwise) will continue to provide that silver lining.
