Looking at the Scarlett Johansson situation, which is a long way from being resolved and could still result in an industry-wide shift in terms of re-negotiating talent contracts for projects designed for a theatrical release that end up getting send to streaming instead, it’s surely too late for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to be awarded a Disney Plus Premier Access debut.
It’s now less than a month until the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s martial arts fantasy epic hits theaters and only theaters, but there’s been chatter bubbling away on the back burner of the rumor mill that another delay could be imminent as the Delta variant causes a spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, which has seen Paramount pull Clifford the Big Red Dog from the calendar and Sony conspicuously omit a release date from the latest Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer.
Despite the Johansson debacle, we’re hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us the Mandarin would be revealed as the title hero’s father long before it was made official – that Disney are putting out the feelers towards Marvel Studios over potentially altering Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ release model, but Kevin Feige reportedly isn’t willing to play ball.
That’s understandable when the company’s Chief Creative Officer is said to be furious over the Black Widow lawsuit, and with only a matter of weeks left until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is scheduled to arrive, the legal team would have to go into overdrive to alter the talent’s deals, which would then realistically piss off the Johansson camp exponentially after she wasn’t afforded the same treatment.
