Marvel's Black Widow was pushed back to May of this year after it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was going to be sticking around longer than any of us anticipated.
The vaccine is coming, and there is a decent chance that things will have returned to some semblance of normality by mid 2021, but nothing is guaranteed, and the studio doesn't seem to be ruling out a Disney+ release for Natasha Romanoff's long-awaited solo outing.
While speaking to Deadline, Kevin Feige was asked if he thinks Black Widow will stick with its current theatrical release or head to streaming, and made it very clear that all options are on the table.
"Don’t ask me week by week what is going to happen in this world, I have no idea and don’t want to guess," he replied. "Everything we’ve done at Marvel Studios has been based in ‘Ok, if everything goes perfectly, here’s what we’d like to do.’ And until this past year, things have gone remarkably well. And it’s my hope that the world gets back on track and we all get back into theaters, and that people will see and experience week by week for the low monthly fee of Disney+ of what we’re brining there, and then be excited to get together with people again in real life and sit with strangers and share an experience on the big screen."
Feige also offered an update on Black Panther 2, revealing that Ryan Coogler is currently writing the script. He also confirmed that the story would further explore the "characters and subcultures" of Wakanda, and that we are most definitely not "going to have a CG Chadwick, and we’re not recasting T’Challa."
"Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has, which gives us great solace, so it was always about furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda. There’s also the task of honoring and respecting the ongoing learnings and teachings from Chad as well."
Finally, the Marvel Studios head was asked if there are plans to revive any of the cancelled Netflix shows such as Daredevil and Luke Cage. All Feige would say is that the Disney+ content is their main focus, but added that he's "been at Marvel long enough to never say never about anything."
What do you guys make of Feige's comments? Do you think we'll be sitting in theaters watching Black Widow around this time 4 months from now?