Marvel Studios have postponed BLACK WIDOW for the second time, now slated for release in May 2021. Originally it would have been in cinemas in May 2020, then November 2020, and there will now be at least a year’s delay. This will be the first year in a decade that a Marvel film has not appeared on the big screen.

With Disney+ launching just in time for COVID lockdowns around the world, many fans and families were able to enjoy the Disney/Marvel back catalogue as they quarantined safely at home. It provided a place for comfort and fun, for comedy and storytelling, and for education and learning during a time when many minds were struggling for peace.

A forward-thinking executive decision meant MULAN released as an exclusive on Disney+ in September 2020 and so far it has blazed a trail as The Movie That Has Made $269 Million And Counting through home purchases alone. (Note that TENET, the first movie released around the world on the big screen after COVID restrictions began to ease, has so far made $207 million.)

We’re asking Marvel Studios/Disney to consider doing a home release on Disney+ for BLACK WIDOW. Yes, the epic action movies this studio has brought us over the years are best seen on the big screen, and we would all much rather be queuing up with our popcorn and our limited-edition cups to watch it in our local cinemas.

But if 2020 has taught us anything it’s that sometimes the team has to go back to the drawing board for a re-think - even when it sounds time-heist crazy. Ultimately, the fans just want to see the movie. They want to watch new stories, see character arcs and plot developments, and follow their favourite characters’ journeys across the MCU even when they know the ultimate ending will be a farewell.

The stark truth now is that a second wave of COVID is beginning to swell around the world, and those cinemas that have been able to open thus far may well have to close again in the coming weeks and months in order to keep us all safe. Vaccinations - the light in the darkness that will usher in a stage where life can begin to return to the closest thing to normal - are likely not to be available on a mass level until the first half of next year at the earliest. Even then, this is leaning on a lot of hope.

Natasha Romanov has waited too long for her swan song already. Disney, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige - we’re asking you, please - don’t make her wait any longer. You know that when it comes to watching MCU movies, especially when they’re brand new - well... the fans could do this all day.

Thank you and stay safe.