Disney CEO Bob Chapek says the release is going to be announced based on various factors
Disney CEO Bob Chapek says the long-awaited Black Widow‘s theatrical release is looking to be a last-minute call. The movie was originally set to release in May 2020 and would’ve started phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then the coronavirus pandemic happened and the plans got greatly disrupted, and that too, multiple times. It’s now set for May 2021, but there are people in the film industry who believe that the date has to be changed yet again due to the uncertainty that comes with theatrical releases.
What Chapek said
While speaking to Bloomberg, Chapek addressed the prospect of releasing the movie on time, saying that Disney needs to keep their options open considering the recent changes. He also mentioned that theatres in New York and Los Angeles won’t even open a few weeks ago, and suddenly they’re open, so that leaves them to wait and see how prospective audiences react to these reopenings. He said that the decision will be last minute, be it for Black Widow or any other title.
The current situation is that while theatres are open, medical professionals believe that things would take at least a year to settle to normal after vaccines become readily available. The summer movie calender is in a state of flux due to this.
Disney’s decision and it’s alternatives
The wait-and-see approach that Disney has opted with seems smart, but there are risks there as well. The movie hasn’t released a trailer in over a year, so they will need to restart the marketing campaign to build the hype for it once more.
The other option will be to release it on their streaming service Disney+. But Marvel Studios seem reluctant to do so. Whatever they opt for, they need to start marketing once again.