Disney announced the delays of six of its major releases for 2021, including Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Free Guy, and The King's Man. The studio had been forced to move most of their 2020 releases into 2021, including two Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Black Widow and Eternals, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, films like Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon were released on Disney+ in addition to theaters during this time, proving the importance of their streaming service during the uncertain times caused by the pandemic.

Still, there was hope that the pandemic would be largely over by the time the Northern Hemisphere summer rolled around, and Disney had placed Black Widow as its first big release of the year on May 7. Many analysts saw this as too early, and there has been speculation all year that Black Widow would be delayed or released on Disney+ for a premium fee. The Disney+ release was finally confirmed on Tuesday, with Disney announcing Black Widow and Crullea will be released in theaters and on Disney+ (with a premier access fee) on the same day. But they aren't the only films to see a release change.

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As part of the same announcement, Disney revealed that six movies scheduled for 2021 had been delayed, with two getting pushed back into 2022. The six movies are Black Widow (moves to July 9), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3), Free Guy (August 13), The King’s Man (December 22), Deep Water (January 14, 2022) and Death on the Nile (February 11, 2022). Kareem Daniel, Chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said the delays were made to ensure the company has been "best options" in a movie market still trying to recover from the COVID pandemic. You can read Daniel's full comments on the decision below:

Today’s announcement reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences.  By leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world.

Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy

The movie delays hint that Disney believes audiences will be hesitant to return to theaters in the summer, even if the vaccine distribution plan set out in the USA, Canada, UK, and Europe goes ahead as planned. Interestingly, though, Disney seems certain that audiences will be heading out to theaters by the Fall, pushing most of its big-budget movies to dates beyond that point in the hopes public life will largely be back to normal by that point.

Hopefully, this will be the last time these movies have to be delayed by Disney. For Marvel fans, the new delays are excruciating, given both movies were already supposed to have been released months ago. And Free Guy has been delayed so often; star Ryan Reynolds even released a video mocking its uncertain release date. While it seems to have a set date finally, he may yet get to use one or two more of those dates if things continue to be as uncertain as they've been for the past year.

Next: All 13 Marvel Movies Releasing After WandaVision

Source: Disney

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