Disney to remain “flexible” on when/how to release Black Widow

Black Widow was originally supposed to come out almost a year ago. Will it get delayed again? Will it go straight to Disney+? Disney will decide “at the last minute.”

Hard as it is to believe, Black Widow — Natasha Romanoff’s long-overdue solo Marvel movie — was supposed to come out on May 1, 2020, almost a year ago. Thanks to the pandemic, it was delayed several times and is currently scheduled to land in theaters on May 7 or this year, but will it actually make it?

That was one of the many questions Disney CEO Bob Chapek fielded during an appearance on Bloomberg Television. “Our situation and our conditions change,” he said. “Just a few weeks ago, theaters in New York and Los Angeles weren’t even open. Now, all of a sudden they’re open, so we’re waiting to see how prospective theatergoers respond to these reopenings. We’re going to remain flexible. We’ll make the call probably at the last minute in terms of how these films come to market, whether it’s Black Widow or any other title.”

“At the last minute,” huh? That probably won’t please fans who have been looking forward to seeing Black Widow for over a year and want a firm date to rely on, but pandemic times being what they are, anything can change at any minute.

There’s also the possibility of releasing the movie straight to Disney+, and Disney has done with movies like Mulan and Soul. They seem reluctant to do it with Black Widow, though, for whatever reason. “We love the theatrical window,” Chapek said. “We think it’s important for building our franchises. At the same time, we don’t think it’s the only way to do it. … We’ll see what happens over the next couple of months. So much is changing, it’s such a dynamic environment. It’s really hard to predict what’s going to happen with consumer behavior in the next month as it comes to re-emergence back into the world of normal. We’ll be watching the call carefully and make the call when we have to.”

So basically, Chapek has confirmed nothing. Black Widow may come out on May 7 or it may not. I suppose let’s just enjoy the mystery.

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h/t Deadline