La Ron S. Readus
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Marvel's Phase 4 Getting Delayed is a Good Thing (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2020-09-30 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
Don’t look at it as a bummer. Look at it as...a blessing in disguise.
Man, the fact that this is one of the only things I can genuinely say about something happening in 2020 and it not come across as toxic or problematic is a bit... YEESH.
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Alright, Readers. I know people were genuinely looking forward to them this year, even WITH everything going on around the world right now. So let me cover my basis.
You have every right to feel bummed out and disappointed regarding the news I’m about to deliver
For some, these movies have been the highlight for a lot of people’s year and provide both a proper escape and something to look forward to.
What I said at the beginning of this video -- along with the opinion I’m about to voice in the rest of it -- is in no way me undermining those of you who are genuinely disheartened by the studios’ decision
2020 has been absolutely ridiculous, so I get it. If you don’t want to hear my “look on the bright side” angle I’m about to present regarding something that genuinely gives you joy, I completely understand if you don’t wanna stick around or wanna wait until you’re in a better place to hear me out.
Cool? Cool.
So (clasps hands). With that being said, thanks to the current global health and safety crisis, the current slate of Phase 4 release dates Marvel Studios had planned for the 2020 films is pretty much a wash.
Now this isn’t the first time Marvel Studios had to adjust their phase 4 schedule because of said crisis.
Like in the video I made on the subject earlier, all of the Marvel Studios Phase 4 films pretty much played “New Cup Move Down” with the release dates of the movies that immediately followed them. And because of how close the release dates were to the initial dates revealed about the Phase 5 films, I just thought it would be best to fuse the two phases together at that point.
And then of course there was the initiator of that change in the form of the Doctor Strange sequel, where -- also like I covered in a video about the situation -- its release date was forced to change because it was too close to the third Spider-Man movie -- Sony’s Phase 4 film -- and didn’t want it to affect potential box office numbers now that the new deal allows Disney to get a bigger slice out of it than the previous MCU Spidey movies did.
/But now -- thanks to the combined results of how their premiere experiment on Disney+ went with the live-action Mulan, and the result of seeing the box office numbers after releasing both Tenet and The New Mutants in theaters in the midst of said crisis -- Disney and Marvel Studios made the decision to delay both of their Phase 4 films scheduled for 2020 releases -- Black Widow and Eternals -- to 2021, officially marking 2020 as the first year since 2009 that Marvel Studios went without a theatrical release./
For context, Eternals’ original release date was November 6, 2020. Their “New Cup Move Down” date then became February 12, 2021, and is now November 5, 2021; almost an entire year after its original date.
/And Black Widow is following suit, with its new release date being Shang-Chi’s “New Cup Move Down” date of May 7th of 2021 after an original date of May 1, 2020 and a “New Cup Move Down” date of November 2020./
This is forcing Shang-Chi to take a new date as well, and is now being released July 9 of 2021.
So that’s where we’re currently at. All of the 2020 films from Marvel Studios are now being released in 2021 as of right now.
And honestly, I think this might be a very wise decision. Not only for Marvel Studios, but also for us.
Business-wise, it makes sense to delay the Phase 4 films. Especially considering other movie studios -- including Disney themselves -- decided to test the waters out in multiple ways regarding how to release movies during the pandemic and recover the most money.
Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox -- now just 20th Century -- released Tenet and The New Mutants in theaters respectively and received mixed results and low box office numbers.
The former was released in theaters because of a combination of the budget spent to make and market the film being too big for them to make it up if they went the route of Trolls: World Tour, and Chris Nolan’s initial stubborn and borderline Boomer-aged opinions about theaters versus streaming that he stands by ever since making them when promoting Dunkirk
And the latter being a combination of its own set of massive delays generating lost interest thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Fox, and director Josh Boone revealing his ignorant and borderline racism-seeped decision slash reasoning for whitewashing Sunspot.
Despite movie theaters opening with set rules and parameters in order to practice social distancing and SAYING that sanitization would be practiced in auditoriums, the combination of people’s concerns and state regulations regarding when movie theaters should and will open not lining up with the releases of those films expectedly brought in low box office numbers
Not to mention Disney’s experiment of charging $30 for the live-action Mulan movie exclusively to those already paying either monthly or yearly for Disney+ only provided a box office return that’s less than one third of the 200 million it took to make and market it. Especially once it was revealed it would be available for everyone to watch on the streaming service normally in December.
With Black Widow finalized and Eternals both filmed and ready for post-production, it’s pretty safe to say that both Marvel and Disney saw the results of other studios and even their own...
Chalked 2020 as a wash...
And decided to save their Marvel Studios titles -- their “big hitters” if you will -- for next year in hopes that we as a nation finally realize we should wear a fucking mask.
As far as us, the consumers, are concerned? I’m not even gonna sugarcoat it; we need a break.
We just went through over 10 years of connected storytelling in the form of the Infinity Saga narrative.
That’s 3 trilogies -- four if you count the Avengers movies -- 3 franchises with 2 movies under their belt, 4 solo movies with 3 of them confirmed for sequels, and one of the biggest event films to ever grace the screen in our generation since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
/Having a year to properly digest and reflect on everything we got NONSTOP over the span of this narrative’s 10 year lifespan is a great way of making sure we as consumers can appreciate what’s already available./
It also gives us a chance to take a moment to breathe and give those of us who feel overwhelmed with the idea of having to watch every single movie Marvel Studios produces in order to properly follow and understand the overall narrative saga that the movie and phase is part of, to catch up and prepare for what’s about to happen next.
Because -- let's just face it -- we all know Phase 4 is going to introduce a key aspect in what the next overall EVENT is in the MCU. We’ve known this since Guardians Vol. 3 was announced.
Plus, this is Marvel we’re talking about. The comic book company that HAS to announce a brand new event the MOMENT a current one ends, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO CHILL
/That’s why I said in the beginning of the video that there being no Marvel Studios movies being released in 2020 is a blessing in disguise. Because we now have time to reflect, appreciate what we have, and prepare for what they have planned for us next/
All without having to worry about going to Six Flags immediately after leaving Cedar Point.
But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below how YOU feel about the fact that we’re not getting a Marvel Studios movie in 2020
Are you disappointed? Do you think we needed this break? I’d love to know your thoughts.
