Scarlett Johansson (L), Angelina Jolie

Los Angeles: Marvel nerds will have to wait a bit longer for upcoming superhero movies “Black Widow” and “Eternals”. Disney has updated its release calendar to factor in the continued uncertainty over the reopening of theatres in the US amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Scarlett Johansson-led “Black Widow”, which was delayed from its original May 1 release date, has now moved to May 7, 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Consequently, “Black Widows” shift kicks Chloe Zhao’s “Eternals” from February 12, 2021 to November 5, 2021, and moves “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”from May 7, 2021 to July 9, 2021. Actor Kumail Nanjiani, who stars alongside the likes of Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie and Kit Harington in “Eternals”, praised Disney for making the “right and responsible decision”.

“There’s a pandemic. Nothing is more important than health & lives. I can’t tell ppl to go to a movie theatre until I feel safe going to one. Take care of yourselves. I promise it’ll be worth the wait,” the actor tweeted. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg’s musical remake of “West Side Story” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” have also been delayed. “West Side Story”, which features Ansel Elgort in the lead, will now open at December 10, 2021, instead of December 18 this year.

Branagh’s “Death on the Nile”, a follow-up to 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express”, moves from October 23 to December 18. However, fans should not be entirely disappointed by Disney’s reshuffle. Pixar’s “Soul” and Ryan Reynolds-starrer “Free Guy” are keeping their respective release dates of November 20 and December 11.

20th Century Studios’ “The King’s Man”, the prequel film to “The Kingsman” series, will release two weeks early on February 12, 2021. Theatres in the US were shut in March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic but are now stuttering back to normalcy. A significant number of cinema houses are still closed.

Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” was the first major studio film that released in the US theatrically but its box office performance was not inspiring enough for other studios to follow suit.