‘Black Widow’ Delayed to July 9th, Will Include Disney+ Release

Black Widow has been delayed once again, now scheduled for a July 9th release which will include a Disney+ Premiere Access component.

Black Widow has been one of the most highly anticipated films in the MCU, largely because she is one of the few original Avengers to not have her own film and largely because of the lack of woman-led superhero movies. For these reasons, I can understand why Disney wanted to try and push it for a theater-only release, but at this point, it’s clear they need to compromise with the reality of our current situation and offer it for a home release as well. The Disney+ Premiere Access release will cost $29.99, which will be cheaper for those in a large household that would otherwise go to a theater together, but more expensive for those of us who live alone.

Hopefully, the world will be closer to normal by July 9th and theaters are accessible to those of us who want that experience. The last time I was in a theater was back in February 2020, and I sort of miss it. There are plenty of films I’ve watched at home, such as Soul, which wrapped up post-production and released in the thick of the pandemic, but I’ve seen the majority of the MCU films in theaters, mostly on opening night, and I hope I can stick to that tradition here. Yes, even with all my complicated ScarJo feelings, I feel like this deserves to be seen in theaters. I’ve waited too damn long, guys.

This film is almost a year late at this point, and will be well over a year late when July rolls around, so we really need to get this film out there. It’s especially important with the MCU, where films tend to tie into one another fairly heavily, especially with the post-credit sequences. We’ve already experienced how these bits being out of sync can be moderately disrupted to the flow of the MCU since the final post-credit scene from WandaVision was supposed to flow directly into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but now we need to wait until next year for the follow up to that bit in the film. 

The Black Widow film, however, takes place earlier in the MCU timeline than either of these, so hopefully, the actual content of the film will still work with the rest of the content, and at most, we have a misplaced post-credit scene. We’ll see how that shakes out, I guess, because I don’t have any insider information on what’s included at the end of the film and am just kind of guessing based on MCU’s established pattern. Who knows?

Black Widow isn’t the only movie to be announced for a Disney+ release today. Cruella and Luca will also go to the streaming platform, with the former film having a similar simultaneous theatrical release. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which was originally slated for July, is being pushed back to September 3rd.

At this time we’re all hoping and praying we’ll be back to normal by then and Shang-Chi will be a theater exclusive, but who knows what the future holds.

Let’s hope for the best!

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary