Here’s why Black Panther 2’s release date is still the same despite most of Marvel’s Phase 4 being rescheduled. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney had to drastically reshuffle their upcoming film slate, which of course includes the next wave of installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Widow will kick off Phase 4, only it will do so in the November window previously claimed by Eternals (rather than May). Most of the subsequent Phase 4 titles were pushed back to release dates Disney had already set aside for Marvel, but there were a couple of exceptions.
Fans might have noticed Black Panther 2 remains in the May 2022 date it received back at the 2019 D23 Expo, making it one of the rare Hollywood projects over the next couple of years to be unaffected by the pandemic (for now, anyway). Since Marvel had to do some heavy duty reorganizing, some may be wondering why Black Panther 2 wasn’t delayed as well. Here, we examine why.
Simply put, Black Panther 2 was very lucky. As stated above, the film was already scheduled for May 2022, meaning Marvel wouldn’t look to start principal photography until some point in 2021. The ongoing health crisis has caused numerous in-production projects to shut down indefinitely, which primarily affects films hoping to premiere next year (like The Batman and The Matrix 4). Hopefully, normal business operations are up and running in 2021, and Black Panther 2 can stay on track as if nothing ever happened.
In regards to Marvel’s 2022 slate, their February date that year is now occupied by Thor: Love and Thunder since everything had to get pushed back. Some assumed Captain Marvel 2 might have been slotted in that window, but that sequel is instead releasing in July 2022. So, Black Panther 2 got to keep its original date, safe at home in Marvel’s prime early May slot. The studio has dominated that weekend for the better part of a decade, meaning Black Panther 2 is in great shape to post a very fruitful box office run. It remains to be seen if it can match or surpass the original’s record-breaking performance, but it’s guaranteed to be a massive success where it is. The last MCU movie to release in early May was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which grossed $863.7 million worldwide.
Disney’s release date shuffle (plus the recent Sony delays) illustrate how the effects of coronavirus will be felt throughout Hollywood for the next couple of years at least. A plethora of high-profile tentpole films were impacted, so it’s just happy circumstance Black Panther 2 didn’t also fall victim. Of course, there’s always the possibility Marvel moves things around again in the future (look at the various alterations to the Phase 3 slate), but they have to be pretty confident Black Panther 2 will be ready to go in May 2022 if they didn’t feel the need to push it back. It’s just too bad other blockbusters weren’t as lucky.
