Wonder Woman vs Black Widow: November smackdown between DC and Marvel could finally crown the Queen
Patty Jenkins' 'Wonder Woman 1984' has been delayed yet again from August 14 to October 2020. While the incessant delays are bound to frustrate fans, there is the possibility that this latest delay could end up hurting the margins of Marvel's 'Black Widow' as well. The Scarlett Johansson movie is currently scheduled to release on November 6, just a little over a month after the new release date for 'WW84'. One can't help but wonder if this won't lead to some losses for the latter movie.
To be fair, beyond having female leads, there's not much that 'Wonder Woman 84' and 'Black Widow' have in common. However, even that common factor is bound to raise some concerns with Disney executives who wouldn't want their big tentpole release to be hampered in any way. Ultimately, all this concern may be premature. After all, hardcore fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will still watch the movie and true comic book fans will probably catch both the Gal Gadot-starrer and the MCU flick.
Of course, that said, there is always the possibility that studio heads may decide to be cautious and delay 'Black Widow' by a month or two. Now that would be an unfortunate choice. So far in 2020, we haven't had a single major Marvel release except for the start of 'Agents of SHIELD' Season 7. Meanwhile, DC has completed all its shows on The CW, is currently airing the 'Harley Quinn' animated series, and will soon begin 'Doom Patrol' Season 2.
Not to mention, we already had 'Birds of Prey' and 'Justice League Dark: Apokolips War' released earlier this year so DC has had a consistent run of shows and movies in 2020 so far. If Marvel productions don't pick up the pace, they risk losing 2020 to their rivals and there's no telling what that could lead to in the long run. Even in their oldest battleground of comic books, DC is currently running circles around Marvel thanks to their controversial new distribution strategy. Marvel has held the lead over DC for years now in the movie department and they can't let a small thing like fear lead to them losing that battle.
'Wonder Woman 1984' is scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 2.