Even the seemingly-indestructible Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t been immune to the chaos being caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, with several of the studio’s top-priority projects being delayed while in various stages of production. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Prague shoot was abandoned as a safety precaution, while Disney are reportedly losing $300,000 a day as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings goes on hiatus following director Destin Daniel Cretton’s voluntary self-isolation.
Scarlett Johansson’s upcoming solo adventure Black Widow, which is completed and ready to go, has also felt the wrath of the global crisis, with the movie’s original release date during the first weekend of May postponed indefinitely as Marvel hold back and wait to see how long the majority of the United States’ major theater chains will be remaining in lockdown.
Everything in the MCU is tied together in some form, and the uncertainty surrounding the release of these movies and TV shows could have a knock-on effect on the franchise’s grand overarching narrative. Case in point: We recently reported that Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova was set to make a cameo appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and we’re now hearing that the first Disney Plus exclusive set in the MCU might be delayed even longer depending on when Natasha Romanoff’s prequel hits theaters.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us about the Guardians of the Galaxy appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder before Vin Diesel confirmed it – Yelena’s cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is directly tied to Black Widow, meaning that Marvel can’t release the show before the movie or it won’t make sense within the context of the MCU.
The events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier reportedly have a huge bearing on the direction of Black Widow’s plot, and with Sam and Bucky both playing key roles in that film, that’s likely how Yelena will end up crossing paths with the duo in their spinoff series – whether it be in a flashback or modern-day setting. In any case, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how things shake out here and as soon as we hear more on the constantly-developing situation, we’ll be sure to let you know.