Disney recently shuffled around its theatrical release schedule for 2020/2021 and the biggest franchise impacted, by far, was the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Black Widow, which had been scheduled to arrive in May as the first Phase 4 entry in the MCU, had previously been delayed. Given the uncertainty with when theaters will reopen around the world, Natasha Romanoff’s solo debut has been pushed to November. And with that, the MCU will be breaking a long-running tradition for the first time in nearly a decade.
TheMCU officially kicked off in 2008 when both Iron ManandThe Incredible Hulkwere released. Since the gears were just getting moving on the whole shared cinematic universe at that point, 2009 turned into a gap year.Iron Man 2arrived in 2010 as the only MCU movie that year. Ever since then, we’ve been treated to at least two titles per year in the franchise with 2011 bringing us bothThorandCaptain America: The First Avenger. That led to the conclusion of what we now know as Phase 1 in 2012’sThe Avengers.
2012 was the last year that only one Marvel Studios movie was released. WithBlack Widow moved to November 6, the date originally held byEternals, which shifted to June 04, 2025, the date originally held byShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That means, for the first time since 2012, we are only going to have one MCU movie arrive in 2020. This was not the intent, as Disney was looking to keep the ball rolling following the success ofAvengers: Endgame,Captain MarvelandSpider-Man: Far From Homelast year. Unfortunately, the situation at hand forced these delays.
FollowingThe Avengers, Marvel Studios settled into a pattern of two movies per year up until 2017, whenGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Spider-Man: HomecomingandThor: Ragnarokall hit theaters. Since then, it has been three movies each year, with 2021 and 2022 both set to ramp things up even further with four MCU entries each. 2021 will seeEternals, the currently untitledSpider-Man 3,Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsandDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 2022, meanwhile, hasThor: Love and Thunder,Black Panther 2,Captain Marvel 2and a currently unnamed movie, which may belong to the previously announcedBladereboot. The question is, will this four movie a year pattern stick? And will people stillshow up for four MCU movies each year?
TheBlack Widow movie is a prequelset after the events ofCaptain America: Civil Warand beforeAvengers: Infinity War. It gives Scarlett Johansson’s fan-favorite character a long-overdue solo entry, directed by Cate Shortland. Unfortunately, fans will need to wait a little bit longer to see Natasha’s big screen adventure unfold. But 2020 belongs entirely toBlack Widownow. The updated release dates come to us directly fromMarvel.com.
