As the Spider-Man: Far From Home closing the Infinity Saga, this connected universe is ready to move forward with its new phase.
The MCU’s Phase 4 will branch out to TV/streaming, and kicked off with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz).
Black Widow was originally scheduled to be released in May 2020 and went through its first delay in April. Since then, Black Widow has gone through many delays, and Wonder Woman 1984.
This is the model that Disney should copy for Black Widow, as it’s unclear when theaters around the world will be able to operate normally and people will be comfortable (and most importantly, feel safe) with going to the cinema. It’s especially important with Black Widow as it’s a somewhat time-sensitive release: the story, as it’s set between Civil War and Infinity War, is part of the old saga, even if it’s released as part of Phase 4, and the more it’s delayed, the more it’s pushed away from its narrative links. In addition to that, the MCU has already begun its new era with the release of WandaVision, so Black Widow is facing the risk of becoming irrelevant if it’s not released soon, and Disney’s best option is to do a double release – one in theaters (those that can do so) and on Disney+ at the same time. Of course, it’s unlikely Disney would go for a “free” release as it did with Soul, given that its Marvel titles are among its most profitable and wouldn’t risk losing that, so Black Widow could be released on Disney+ for a fee and later be available for all subscribers, as it did with Mulan.
The clock is ticking and Black Widow is risking losing the interest of the audience, more so as Marvel fans are now invested in Black Widow on Disney+ are understandable, Disney should consider that the movie might not be relevant anymore by the time it can finally be released in theaters, and following the example of Warner Bros. and HBO Max is not a bad idea at all.
