Marvel has picked a new date for Black Widow in November, which pushed the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 film slate back one slot. Black Widow, previously announced as delayed, has now been rescheduled form May 1 to November 6, 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. That was the date originally scheduled for Eternals, which has been rescheduled to February 12, 2021. That moved the dates for Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to May 7, 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to November 2021, and Thor: Love & Thunder to February 2022.
Disney also rescheduled Indiana Jones 5 from Summer 2021 to July 2022.
Perhaps the biggest move from a strategic view was the removal of Artemis Fowl from the theatrical release schedule entirely (it had been scheduled to premiere May 29), with plans announced to debut the film on streaming service Disney+.
The Disney moves follow rescheduling announcements for other summer films by Warner Bros., Sony, and other studios. For a summary of what’s coming up in the coming months, check out:
And for the full schedule of geek films from 2015-2027, see the Best in Shows Index.
The extensive reworking of the summer film schedule is going to leave a lot of publishing, toy, and other merch executives scrambling to reschedule their releases, moves that are going to leave holes in product release schedules through 2020.
