Anna Daniels
As COVID-19 has become more widespread and serious since it was first identified late last year — the “19” in the virus’ name refers to the year in which it was discovered — the movie industry has been forced to adapt to a newly stagnant world. With major cities, entire states, and even countries living through strict lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, consumers can’t go out to a restaurant or store whenever they feel like it, much less a movie theater.
As a result, studios are delaying their biggest releases to try and protect themselves financially; at this point, it’s likely better to wait until the world at large has a better idea of what life will look like in a post-COVID recovery period. Over the past couple of months, announcements have flooded the internet that films like F9, No Time to Die, Black Widow, Wonder Woman: 1984, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Harrison Ford’s next Indiana Jones movie have all faced months-long delays, with some of them even pushed back to the following year.
There’s currently no way of knowing how or when people will be allowed out of their homes, much less allowed to congregate in large crowds, which is clearly causing huge issues for the movie theater industry, and it remains to be seen whether or not movie theaters will even survive. As for these delayed films, if their releases are pushed back any further, it’s possible studios will turn to streaming, even for their biggest releases.
Be sure to check back with Looper for updates on whether either Spider-Man film is hit with any further delays. In the meantime, stay safe, remain indoors, and wash your hands to help bring this crisis to an end sooner rather than later.
Written by: Looper
