Marvel Studios has announced the official release date for its Black Widow movie. After making her debut as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow went on to become a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Avengers and one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's more popular heroes in general. Sadly, though, the character ended up sacrificing her life to help her fellow Avenger and longtime buddy Clint Barton attain the Soul Stone in this year's Avengers: Endgame.
Nat will nevertheless return in the upcoming Black Widow, which finally gives the character her long-overdue solo MCU film. The movie actually started production back at the end of May - ahead of Marvel's official announcement of its Phase 4 MCU slate - and set photos have suggested that it takes place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. And seeing as shooting is already well underway, it stands to reason that Black Widow will be the first Phase 4 film out of the gate.
Sure enough, Marvel Studios formally unveiled its Phase 4 lineup during its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 today and confirmed that Black Widow will hit theaters on May 1, 2020, making it the very first Phase 4 movie. Check out its official logo, below.
Early May has typically been reserved for Marvel Studios' heavy-hitters in years past, so it only makes sense to give that date to Black Widow (a project that MCU fans have been wanting for many years now) in 2020. The film will arrive about a month after another big-name action franchise movie in the form of James Bond 25, but should otherwise have the box office to itself, as far as direct competition goes. It won't have to face-off with another tentpole, Fast & Furious 9, until three weeks into its run either, and will have already done most of its (commercial) damage by that point, anyway. All things considered, it's in a pretty strong position to thrive financially.
Presumably, Black Widow will serve as a swan-song to Johansson's run with the MCU and, in doing so, aspire to give her a far better sendoff than the one she got in Endgame. With a talented director in Cate Shortland (Lore, Berlin Syndrome) calling the shots, though, there's fair reason to hold out hope that the film will ultimately deliver the goods in that department. And who knows: based on the rumors around the movie, there could even be some passing of the torch from one generation of Black Widow to another here...
Source: Marvel Studios