Black Widow Movie – Marvel moves ahead to a new phase
The pandemic manipulated the release calendar, but Marvel Studios returns to theaters with its pop-culture credentials strongly intact, having launched a trio of buzzworthy series featuring other Avengers-connected characters — “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and currently “Loki” — for Disney+, its parent company’s streaming service.
After “Black Widow’s, what’s known as Phase 4 of Marvel’s meticulously planned lineup of movies is destined to be tested. That’s not only because of uncertainty about the movie-going experience broadly but also the studio Post Avenger – Endgame relying on a mix of new and returning heroes.
Marvel’s next two movies, notably, are based on lesser-known characters introduced in the 1970s: “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” about the martial-arts warrior with a storied lineage; and Eternals artist-writer Jack Kirby’s creation (which was coolly received at the time) about a team of immortals who defend Earth.
At this point, nobody with a sense of box-office history is betting against Marvel’s chances. With Guaridans of the Galaxy, the company demonstrated its ability to score with more obscure comic-book titles. Disney+, moreover, has offered a platform to strengthen its connection to audiences and develop material that will enhance and broaden its cinematic universe, underscored by plans for a fourth “Captain America” movie using the Falcon Series as a springboard and “Black Widow’s” credit sequence.
Still, unproven characters always pose a bit more of a risk, and the two films due in the next four months will be followed by a steady stream of sequels: In order of the company’s release plans, Spider-Man in December 2021; Doctor Strange, Thor, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel in 2022; and Ant-Man and the Wasp and Guardians of the Galaxy in 2023.
