Black Widow is still being eyed for a theatrical release and won’t head to Disney Plus first

While many 2020 films were shifted to streaming services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Marvel’s Black Widow is one of the few holdouts, and they’re still eyeing a theatrical release.

The highly-anticipated superhero adventure starring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh was originally slated for release on May 1, 2020. 

Disney pushed the release date several times, which is now slated for May 7, 2021, with Deadline reporting that Disney has no plans to shift the movie to its Disney Plus streaming service.

It was mentioned during Disney’s Investor Day in December that they were still eyeing a theatrical release for Black Widow, with Disney CEO Bob Chapek telling investors on a conference call (via THR) that hasn’t changed.

‘We are still intending for it to be a theatrical release,’ Chapek told investors on Thursday’s call.

‘We are going to be watching very carefully to see whether that strategy needs to be revisited,’ he added.

The strategy may be revisited if enough theaters still aren’t open yet by early May, along with ‘audience demand’ for the movie.

If enough theaters are open – including major markets like Los Angeles, whose theaters have been closed since March – Black Widow could be the first major studio movie to debut in 2021. 

Disney is considered a ‘staunch ally’ to the theatrical movie experience and they’ve been reluctant to shift movies to Disney Plus, though they have done so before.

They moved Mulan to Disney Plus in September, after a late March theatrical release was scrapped due to COVID-19, though through a new initiative called Premier Access.

Disney Plus subscribers had to pay an additional $29.99 to watch Mulan, which was still released in foreign territories, where it only earned $69.1 million.

While no viewership data was released for Mulan, Chapek revealed, ‘it was successful to the extent that we’re also using that strategy on Raya and the Last Dragon.’

Raya and the Last Dragon will be released both in theaters and simultaneously on Disney Plus with Premier Access for $29.99.

If Black Widow is pushed further into 2021, it would also impact Marvel Studios’ upcoming slate of superhero movies.

After Black Widow is seemingly set to arrive in May, it will be followed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (July 9), The Eternals (Nov. 5) and Spider-Man 3 (Dec. 17),