Marvel Delays 3 Movies: What About The Rest Of Phase 4
Marvel Studios has changed the Phase 4 slate for the Marvel Cinematic Universe again - and it may impact the movies coming out later down the line. After the end of the Infinity Saga, 2020 was scheduled to be the start of a new era for the MCU. Marvel Studios spent the majority of last year announcing upcoming movies - and the first slate of Disney+ TV shows - and getting fans excited to see what will come next. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has repeatedly forced delays to Phase 4 of the MCU.
With theaters and productions shutting down in March, Marvel waited as long as they could before announcing sweeping changes to Phase 4. When it finally came time to unveil the new slate, Black Widow became the sole 2020 theatrical release. There have been several other delays that have come since then, leaving the MCU calendar a bit scattered. The release date shuffling left 2021 with two brand new franchises and Spider-Man 3 as the lone sequel, while 2022 was filled with four highly-anticipated sequels and no new properties. In some instances, even the placements of these films was questionable, as 2022's four MCU movies are all slated to come out within five months.
Although many hoped that the release date delays were done, there was a growing feeling that this wouldn't be the case. Theaters currently can't support major blockbusters with limited capacity and not all major markets being open. There was even some speculation that Black Widow could skip theaters altogether and follow in Mulan's footsteps and become available on Disney+ through Premier Access. However, Disney and Marvel Studios have now made their decision official, as they've delayed three MCU movies - but will more follow?
Disney officially announced that the Phase 4 slate of MCU movies won't begin in 2020 anymore, as Black Widow has been delayed to 2021. Originally scheduled to hit theaters May 1, 2020, Scarlett Johansson's long-awaited solo film was moved to November 6, 2020, earlier this year. Now, the decision has been made to move Black Widow back to May 7, 2021. This date was previously occupied by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and means MCU fans will wait a full year longer for Black Widow than originally planned.
With Black Widow taking its release date, Shang-Chi has also been delayed. The movie was previously set to be released in February 2021 but was pushed to the summer season after production had to be stopped. There are signs that Shang-Chi is back to work currently, but Marvel's moves meant the potential franchise starter needed to move too. Shang-Chi is still scheduled to drop in theaters during the summer, with July 9, 2021, becoming its new release date.
The delays to Black Widow and Shang-Chi are connected due to the May release date, but Marvel also pushed back Eternals. The new movie directed by Chloé Zhao was originally set to be released in theaters in November 2020, but it was pushed to February 2021 earlier this year. Even though Marvel bypassed February 2021 for Black Widow's new release date and theoretically could've kept the movie in that spot, it will now come out November 5, 2021, a full year after the initial release date.
With these new release date changes, Marvel Studios has elected not to touch the majority of Phase 4. Sony still has Spider-Man 3 slated for December 17, 2021, which will bring four MCU movies to theaters next year if it holds. As for 2022, this leaves Thor: Love and Thunder scheduled for February 11, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scheduled for March 25, Black Panther 2 scheduled for May 6, and Captain Marvel 2 scheduled for July 8.
For each of these films, there is currently no sign that Marvel isn't planning to move forward with them. Sony and Marvel will get to work on Spider-Man 3 once Tom Holland is done with Uncharted and hope to begin filming late this year. Natalie Portman has already gone to Australia to prepare for filming on Thor 4, and a larger version of the Volume technology Taika Waititi used with The Mandalorian is being built for the film's production. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange 2 is rumored to begin filming by the end of 2020, giving it plenty of time to be ready by March 2022. Black Panther 2 was scheduled to begin filming in early 2021 prior to Chadwick Boseman's death, but there isn't a reported schedule for Captain Marvel 2 yet.
Marvel might have left the rest of Phase 4's slate the same after changing Black Widow, Eternals, and Shang-Chi, but that doesn't mean that more delays won't come. In some cases, Marvel now has the ability to reassess their entire schedule and make necessary changes/improvements. For example, there are a few instances of movies scheduled to be released too close together. The new November date for Eternals is just six weeks before Spider-Man 3, while the gap between Thor: Love and Thunder and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is also six weeks. Marvel has had similarly tight gaps in the past but adding some extra separation when possible could be beneficial. Not only will it give audiences a bit of a buffer, but some other delays could give Marvel extra time to get upcoming movies done.
If Spider-Man 3 is delayed out of 2021, we could see Sony and Marvel move the franchise back to its usual July release window for 2022. This would mean that Captain Marvel 2 would need a new release date too. It could be moved to a later part of 2022 potentially or move up to take Black Panther 2's release date. Since Marvel and Black Panther 2 director Ryan Coogler had no knowledge of Boseman's battle with cancer, the movie could be delayed to give them added time to grieve and eventually figure out how to continue the franchise. A delay for Black Panther 2could still happen even if Spider-Man 3 doesn't move. This could see titles like Ant-Man 3 or Guardians of the Galaxy 3 potentially move up the schedule and land a 2022 release date, or see Doctor Strange 2 move back a few weeks and get a May release date like it was supposed to have.
It's also impossible to feel assured that the current release dates will stick without seeing how the world continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Until there is a vaccine, there will still be a chance that one of Marvel's many productions could be shut down again if someone associated with the film tests positive for COVID-19. Even with strict safety guidelines, we've already seen major films like The Batman have to stop after a positive test. On a broader scale, there's also no guarantee that mass shutdowns won't happen again, as cases could spike near the end of the year during flu season, which is right when Marvel is hoping to potentially get some of their upcoming films off the ground.
At this point, it is too early to tell if Marvel will make more changes to the Phase 4 slate. But, given all the shifts that have already been made, there's no reason to believe that the current slate is firmly locked into place. If Marvel does wind up not delaying any more movies, though, then Phase 4 of the MCU will be quite busy once it begins in 2021.