Ever since Marvel Studios postponed the release of Black Widow due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there's been a lot of speculation about what would happen to the movie (a Disney+ release has been one of the most popular examples of wishful thinking). Well, things have finally been cleared up as Disney has moved the Scarlett Johansson led blockbuster to November 6th, 2020.
That pushes Eternals to February 12th, 2021, the release date that previously belonged to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That now moves to May 7th, 2021, forcing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to November 5th, 2021.
Are you starting to see a pattern yet?
Yes, the entire Phase 4 slate has essentially been delayed as the Doctor Strange sequel has pushed Thor: Love and Thunder to February 18th, 2022, a lot previously reserved for an untitled Marvel Studios movie. On the plus side, Black Panther 2 is still heading our way on May 8th, 2022 as planned.
As cool as it would have been, Black Widow heading straight to Digital or Disney+ was always unlikely, and this huge release date shuffle honestly isn't that shocking. It's an inevitable result of the global pandemic, and means we now have to wait that little bit longer for all these movies (which was to be expected).
Now, we just have to hope theaters are actually open by November...