Disney has officially delayed No Time To Die was the first film to move, with the studio pushing it back a whole seven months. Now, as world governments scramble to respond to the growing threat of coronavirus, everyone else is following suit.
Disney has chosen to delay three major releases; Antlers. All three films were due out over the next month, and were in the final lap of their marketing campaigns. In an official statement, Disney noted this action was being taken "out of an abundance of caution. We truly believe in the moviegoing experience, and we are looking at new potential 2020 release dates to be announced at a later date." It's a particularly painful decision for Josh Boone's ill-fated New Mutants, which as been delayed four times now. All eyes are now turning to Black Widow - but why hasn't Disney already made a decision?
The truth is that, while Black Widow and New Mutants exist within the same genre and are both based on Marvel superheroes, they're two very different films. While Boone originally envisioned New Mutants as the beginning of a trilogy, it's become a standalone, so much so he dropped a planned post-credits scene. Disney can safely move this film without causing any further disruption to their slate; indeed, it may actually be useful to have a completed New Mutants movie ready for release towards the end of the year, when the pandemic is hopefully under control but studios are still behind on production. That may explain why Disney has avoided giving any sense of the new release window they're hoping to hit; they want to maintain their flexibility.
There's a striking contrast with Black Widow, the first film in the MCU's Phase 4 slate. Marvel Studios' shared universe model may have made them one of Hollywood's biggest success stories, but it's removed that flexibility. Everything is connected to everything else; if Black Widow is delayed, it has consequences for the rest of Phase 4. Making matters worse, the MCU is about to transform into a transmedia universe due to the launch of a series of Disney+ TV shows. If Disney adjust Black Widow's release date, it potentially disrupts the Disney+ rollout as well.
It's reasonable to assume Disney executives are strongly considering delaying Black Widow. If they do so, however, they'll need to have put together a comprehensive plan for how this will affect the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the Disney+ schedule. As a result, they've chosen to hold back on any official announcement while they figure out what to do. They have a month in which to make their decisions.
