In the short term, the massive number of major blockbuster films that are being delayed from this spring and summer to the fall and beyond, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a huge issue for cinemas, studios, and, of course, fans. However, according to filmmaker Scott Derrickson, fans and filmmakers shouldn’t be too concerned about the long delays for films such as “Black Widow,” “No Time to Die,” and others because we could be looking at much better films when they finally hit theaters.
Speaking on Twitter, Derrickson, who has worked on large films in the past, such as Marvel Studios’ 2017 feature, “Doctor Strange,” said that the delay of all these major films likely means that people working on the projects will have even more time to make adjustments and fix issues. Thus, like one of the best sci-fi films of all time, films like “Black Widow” and its brethren might actually be better served by the additional time to work out the kinks.
“The pushing of all these big tentpole release dates will increase their overall quality — more time for script & production design development,” tweeted Derrickson. “‘Blade Runner’ looks so amazing because Ridley Scott & his team took a year during the 80-81 actors & WGA strikes to perfect the visuals.”
Obviously, there’s no guarantee that any of these films will actually benefit from additional tinkering. For every “Blade Runner,” there are films such as (and I hate to bring it up, forgive me), “Justice League,” which delayed its release date for additional photography and new scenes meant to improve the film but, in actuality, probably compounded issues, making it damn near unwatchable.
Now, there’s no point in saying that “Black Widow,” “F9,” or “Top Gun: Maverick” are going to be the next “Justice League,” nor does it make sense to guarantee that they’re the next “Blade Runner,” but it will be interesting to see what might change and how the filmmakers feel the delay ultimately helped/hindered the films.