Posted in: Disney, Marvel Studios, Movies, Phase 4 | Tagged: black widow, marvel, movies
Black Widow Still Set as a Theatrical Release, Disney Remains Flexible
Disney is currently hosting their Quarter 1 2021 Investor Call, and anyone looking for some sort of major announcement is probably leaving unhappy. Disney didn't announce or talk about anything that we didn't already know, but CEO Bob Chapek did squash one of those rumors that have been running around the internet since the summer of last year; is Black Widow going to Disney+? At the moment, it sounds like that isn't the case, and they still intend it to be a theatrical release. However, Chapek went on to say that they are monitoring the situation "very, very carefully" when it comes to the distribution of the vaccine and theater openings as they get closer to the release date.
Chapek was also asked about movies that are put onto Disney+ as a free offering like Soul or something that is being offered as a PVOD offering like Mulan. Chapek said that Disney is remaining "flexible" and basically went on to say that Mulan went well enough for Disney that they are doing the same thing for Raya and the Last Dragon next month. So it very much sounds like Disney is pretty much taking it one movie at a time, unlike something like Warner Bros., who just switched their entire 2021 slate to a hybrid release. At the moment, it sounds like Disney still intends to release Black Widow in theaters, but that could change at any time. Whether that change will be another delay or if Disney will move Black Widow to a hybrid release is unknown, but it does sound like Disney won't be making any across the board changes when it comes to their 2021 releases.
Black Widow, directed by Cate Shortland, stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O. T. Fagbenle, Rachel Weisz, and Ray Winstone. It is currently set to be released on May 7, 2021.