Marvel Head Kevin Feige confirmed he is still hopeful that the Scarlett Johansson-led Black Widow will get a traditional theatrical release when it debuts in May 2021.
"I mean, confidence is meaningless in today's world because nobody knows anything. Hope springs eternal," Feige recently told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview about Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). "A year delay, you hope would be enough, there's a vaccine out there now." He added, "We'll see. I certainly hope so. I want to be back in the theater with people."
In the same interview, Feige also discussed what went into restarting the promotional campaign for Black Widow after the movie's release was pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "We've had that before. Endgame and Far From Home were the same time," Feige revealed. "We have the pleasure and the privilege of working with the greatest marketing department in the history of Hollywood, so restarting that campaign, any of those campaigns, I have great confidence in." He went on to say, however, "What I don't have confidence [in] is the timing because we're dealing with this whole pandemic."
It was previously revealed that Black Widow is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War and will find Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) confronting a dangerous conspiracy that's interwoven with her training as a KGB spy in the Red Room. In trying to uncover the truth, Natasha will reunite with multiple individuals from her past, including Florence Pugh's Yelena and Alexei Shostakov, the Russian counterpart to Captain America who is known as Red Guardian.
The film will also see Natasha coming face-to-face with the infamous Marvel villain Taskmaster, a mercenary with the ability to replicate the combat techniques of anyone he encounters. The film will serve as the first film released in Phase Four of the MCU.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. Robert Downey Jr. is also expected to appear as Tony Stark/Iron Man. After being delayed twice, the film is scheduled for release on May 7, 2021. In the meantime, Marvel fans can check out WandaVision, which is set to premiere on Disney+ on Jan 15. Another Marvel Studios series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is also scheduled to premiere on the streaming service on March 19, 2021. The upcoming Loki series will bow in May 2021, the same month that Black Widow premieres.
Source: ComicBook.com