The ‘Black Widow’ Hype is Dying and MCU Fans Want Answers
It’s been over a year since the last Marvel Cinematic Universe film, but don’t blame Marvel for that: they’ve been dealing with a global pandemic, same as anyone else. Before that disruption, Disney planned to release the MCU’s latest: Black Widow.
Now? After several delays, it’s unclear when and where the film will debut. Some MCU fans believe the hype surrounding the film is quickly dying off, and they want answers on when to expect it.
What is ‘Black Widow’ going to be about?
Black Widow is set to take place after the events of Captain America: Civil War. It details the eponymous character’s family reunion between her two sisters and brother. Here’s the full description via the Marvel website:
“In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”
What intrigues MCU fans about the film is that it alludes to elements of Romanoff’s past she discusses in the other films. While the character herself is dead within the MCU (or at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe), this will give her one last moment to shine.
It could give a fitting end to a great character while also setting up other characters for participation going forward. Based on her talent and popularity, no one would be shocked if costar Florence Pugh assumed the Black Widow mantle for future MCU films.
The many delays of ‘Black Widow’
Like nearly all major feature film releases scheduled since March 2020, Black Widow has been delayed significantly due to the ongoing worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Vox reported on the initial delay in March). The question now becomes: How will Disney get the film to the masses: via theaters or through another less conventional method?
Disney recently released Mulan on its Disney+ app, charging a fee for users to purchase the film. If Disney neglects to do this, it could mean that Black Widow — and the subsequent MCU films scheduled behind it — will still have to wait.
This is an issue for the MCU because the timing of its films are so precise. Each one must be released in the correct order, otherwise future plot points may not make as much sense.
Continual delays are bad for any film company, but it’s especially hard on Marvel Studios due to the interconnected nature of their franchises.
Why the ‘Black Widow’ hype is dying
After its multiple delays, some fans are worried that the film will not be as successful as it originally would have been. A Reddit thread discussing the film had MCU fans speculating on Marvel’s new plan for release. One person said they hoped that the delays ended sooner rather than later:
“Agreed. Delaying it just kills hype. I bet they already cut into its success by delaying it this long. And possibly just hurts them in the long run cause they keep pushing back everything else.”
As noted above, Marvel has a fairly tight schedule of MCU releases in the next few years. With this film continually delayed along with the tragic passing of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, the MCU is in a state of disarray at the moment.
Disney would be smart to debut Black Widow on its streaming platform just to get it into viewers’ hands so they can resume their regularly scheduled films ASAP.
