COVID-19 Can't Stop Marvel From Releasing 'Black Widow' Movie Early In UK

The delays imposed by the coronavirus pandemic haven’t stopped Marvel from releasing “Black Widow” earlier than planned. While Disney has released the schedule of Marvel’s “Black Widow” in the U.S. cinemas in November, the movie will arrive in the U.K. theaters in October.

According to Comic Book, the movie will be in the U.S. cinemas on Nov. 6, while it arrives 10 days earlier in the U.K. cinemas on Oct. 28. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has some good things to say about their superheroine, praising her backstory, as well as, how the film turned out.

The actress behind Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson, said that the film would explore themes of family and self-forgiveness. Black Widow has been in majority of the “Avengers” movies, but this is the first time MCU fans will see an entire arc dedicated to her own storyline. Johansson said that moviegoers and fans will finally get to see who the superheroine was before her sacrifice in “Avengers: Endgame.”

While waiting for the film's release, fans can content themselves with other Disney Plus releases. The streaming service has an entire collection of videos, from “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” to “Frozen 2.”

The live-action film “Mulan,” however, is still on for its July 24 release; the date was already rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another film that was supposed to come out this May, “Artemis Fowl,” has instead been directed to Disney’s streaming service as a straight-to-video movie.

The second season of “The Mandalorian” is still on track for its release on Disney Plus this October. The filming for the series has been completed before the lockdowns were imposed. Meanwhile, fans waiting for news about “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s” release will be disappointed to hear that Disney hasn’t shared anything about it so far.

The “Black Widow” film is directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige. Joining the cast are Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, and David Harbour as the Red Guardian, aka Alexei Shostakov.

Black Widow promoTop: Florence Pugh and Scarlett Johansson as Yelena Belova and Natasha Romanoff in the "Black Widow" trailer. Bottom: Logo for Marvel Studios' "Black Widow." Photo: Marvel Studios

Ten days may not seem like a lot, but when it comes to avoiding spoilers, that can feel like an eternity. This means Marvel fans not living in the U.K. may need to be diligent to avoid having major plot points ruined for them on social media. It also signals that Disney has confidence that enough theaters will be open in the country by that time to give Black Widow the box office juice that it needs. Though, the situation has been somewhat difficult to predict and a lot could change between now and then. For now, these dates for big blockbusters are more or less being viewed as placeholders, given the uncertainty.

Scarlett Johansson played Natasha Romanoff for a decade in the MCU, making her debut in 2010's Iron Man 2. Yet, right up until her death in Avengers: Endgame, the character had never been given a solo movie. That is finally set to be amended in what can certainly be described, for many, as a better late than never situation. The movie takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War and before the events of Infinity War, making it a prequel. Taskmaster is set to be the main villain. It is expected to be Johansson's last major MCU appearance, given her sacrifice to obtain the Soul Stone and defeat Thanos.

The cast also includes David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle and Rachel Weisz. Disney, during the shutdown, has opted to release some movies on streaming early, such as Artemis Fowl and the Hamilton movie. However, they have remained committed to giving theatrical releases to major blockbusters such as Black Widow. So even if, for whatever reason, the current release date doesn't stick, don't expect to see it show up on Disney+ any time soon. We'll be sure to keep you posted as the situation develops. This news was previously reported by Digital Spy.

Black Widow(2020):

Directed by:                           Cate Shortland

Produced by:                         Kevin Feige

Screenplay by:                       Eric Pearson

Story by:                                 Jac Schaeffer,Ned Benson

Based on:                                Black Widow by
                                                 Stan Lee
                                                 Don Rico
                                                 Don Heck

Starring:                                 Scarlett Johansson
                                                 Florence Pugh
                                                 David Harbour
                                                 O-T Fagbenle
                                                 William Hurt
                                                 Ray Winstone
                                                 Rachel Weisz

Music by:                                Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography:                  Gabriel Beristain

Edited by:                               Leigh Folsom Boyd
                                                 Matthew Schmidt

Production  company:           Marvel Studios

Distributed by:                       Walt Disney Studios
                                                  Motion Pictures

Release date:                           November 6, 2020 (United States)
Country:                                  United States
Language:                                English