Warner Bros. might end up changing the face of cinema forever by deciding to simultaneously release all of their 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day that they arrive in theaters, although the studio is now facing some backlash from disgruntled talent and business partners that were left out of the loop after Wonder Woman 1984 duo Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins were the only ones rewarded with a hefty bonus.
When Marvel Studios initially delayed Black Widow by six months and announced shortly after that the live-action Mulan remake would be heading exclusively to Disney Plus behind the Premier Access paywall, fans started demanding that Scarlett Johansson’s final appearance as Natasha Romanoff get the same treatment. Those calls only intensified when the prequel was pushed back until next May, but so far, the studio have remained adamant that Cate Shortland’s blockbuster will remain as a theatrical release.
However, a recently leaked video seemed to indicate that Black Widow could be coming to Premier Access in April, a month before it hits the big screen, and the fact that the footage was almost immediately pulled appeared to lend weight to those claims. A new report has now poured cold water on the idea, though, revealing that Marvel are still committed to Phase Four’s feature-length kickoff sticking to cinemas.
“Some of Disney’s biggest movies will continue to receive exclusive runs in theaters before arriving on the company’s streaming services. For instance, contrary to widespread speculation, Black Widow, a much-anticipated Marvel spectacle, will remain on Disney’s theatrical release calendar for May 7, the people briefed on the presentation said.”
Of course, things could always change depending on how quickly the box office rebounds over the coming months, and it’ll be interesting to see if the major studios in Hollywood follow the template set by Warner Bros. and HBO Max, or they decide to keep the status quo the way it always has been. Regardless, let’s hope that Black Widow doesn’t get delayed any further, with fans already having been starved of MCU content for too long now.
