After Avengers: Endgame took care of James Cameron’s 22-year monopoly on holding the record for the highest-grossing movie of all-time by tearing past both Titanic and Avatar, many were wondering how the epic and spectacular conclusion to the Infinity Saga could possibly be topped. After all, trying to emulate such a monumental achievement is an incredibly difficult task, but as the fates would have it, Marvel Studios‘ response was to do absolutely nothing instead.
Originally, this was going to be a huge year for their cinematic universe. Black Widow was to send Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff riding off into the sunset with a solo pic ten years in the making, while Eternals was hoping to further expand the cosmic side of the mythology. Not only that, but the roster of Disney Plus exclusives were set to begin rolling out with The Falcon and the Winter Solider and then WandaVision.
However, now that Black Widow is no longer coming in 2020, this year marks the first time since 2009 that the world’s biggest and most popular franchise hasn’t released any new films, with an eighteen month gap following last July’s Spider-Man: Far From Home for good measure. The last time there was a similar gap was between 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and 2010’s Iron Man 2.
It’s a shame, to be sure, but given what’s going on right now what with COVID-19 and the pandemic wreaking havoc on the industry, it’s completely understandable that the studio is choosing to hold off on putting out any new movies in theaters. And besides, if you want to look on the bright side, at least there’s a ton to get excited about over the next few years.