Marvel’s Black Widow Will Have 30 Minutes Of IMAX Expanded Ratio Footage

Marvel’s Black Widow will contain 30 minutes of IMAX expanded ratio footage, as was revealed on a recent IMAX earnings call. The Black Widow IMAX footage will be presented in an expanded 1.90:1 aspect ratio – if you need a reminder of what that looks like, you can check out the comparison chart below. It’s not surprising to learn that Marvel Studios is including expanded IMAX footage in Black Widow, as Marvel has been partnering with IMAX for years now. However, given what we’ve seen teased in Black Widow trailers, that 30 minutes of expansive IMAX footage could be thrilling as hell.

The Black Widow trailers have dropped all sorts of teases for what could be some awesome IMAX sequences. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) having a skydiving aerial battle with enemy troops is certainly one scene; another would be the Widow’s “Soviet Avengers” squad attacking some kind of base (and possibly springing David Harbour’s Red Guardian). There’s the sequence of Natasha and her “sister” Yelena (Florence Pugh) engaged in a high-speed chase to escape Taskmaster and enemy forces in Budapest; and of course, whatever big finale we may not have seen yet. That list alone could fill 30 minutes of expanded Imax footage, easily.

Right now, Marvel Studios and its many fans are all keeping fingers crossed that Black Widow can indeed drop into theaters, come November. The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe movie release slate has had to be shifted back, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the wildly uncertain situation in the US market has made it questionable whether or not November will be a long enough lead time for America to tamp down its COVID-19 infection rate, and instill enough confidence in American audiences to return to theaters in mass numbers.

Right now, other studios are considering international rollouts for their big blockbuster films (like Warner Bros.’ Tenet), while only giving US theaters a limited release where possible, at later dates. Marvel could have to start making such considerations in the next month or two, as the picture of the coronavirus impact on Hollywood continues to develop.

Here is the full updated schedule of Marvel Cinematic Universe release dates:

• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020)
• Black Widow (November 6, 2020)
• WandaVision (December 2020)
• Eternals (February 2, 2021)
• Loki (Spring 2021)
• Shang-Chi: And the Legend of the Ten Rings (May 7, 2021)
• What If…? (Summer 2021)
• Hawkeye (Fall 2021)
• Spider-Man 3 (December 17, 2021)
• Thor: Love and Thunder (February 11, 2022)
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022)
• Black Panther 2 (May 6, 2022)
• Captain Marvel II (July 8, 2022)