It’s deja vu all over again: As winter turns to spring, and the coronavirus pandemic shows little sign of slowing down, we’re rapidly approaching the release dates of all the 2021 summer movies that were supposed to come out last year and got delayed because of Covid-19. Marvel was one of the first studios to delay their 2020 blockbusters, when they bumped Black Widow from May 1, 2020 to November 6, 2020. Then November became May 7, 2021.

Now May 7, 2021 could become ... another, later date. According to Variety, Marvel is now considering another delay because the pandemic continues to keep audiences around the world out of movie theaters:

As for Black Widow, expect the 2020 delay treatment should the theater situation not improve over the spring.  Since it's the first 2020s film from the franchise that propelled the studio to a now fictional-seeming $11 billion global gross in 2019, another delay before a last-ditch Disney+ release is more likely to occur.

Marvel was finally able to start Phase Four of their cinematic universe — which was originally scheduled to begin with Black Widow — with their new Disney+ series WandaVision. But they could soon run into an issue if their television shows come out and their movies do not. Marvel plans each production to flow directly into the next, so timing is essential. I imagine that’s what a “last-ditch Disney+ release” would look like — eventually without certain movie releases, Marvel won’t be able to premiere their series that are ready to go. It wouldn’t take much for that house of cards to start to fall.

Gallery — Our Favorite WandaVision Easter Eggs So Far:

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