Black Widow: Disney still has no plans to stream

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has confirmed that Marvel’s Black Widow is still aiming for a theatrical release rather than going straight to streaming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chapek confirmed during an investor call Thursday that the next Marvel superhero film starring Scarlett Johansson was always ready for a theatrical release rather than a Disney + debut, although he also expressed that the company will remain flexible with its theatrical release schedule and reassess strategies. output if and when necessary.

“We still intend for this to be a theatrical release,” Chapek said during Disney’s quarterly earnings call this week, as he reaffirmed the company’s commitment to bringing Black Widow to the big screen. before returning to the monitoring of the situation by the company. , “We will be watching very carefully to see if this strategy needs to be reviewed.”

Although Chapek has reiterated the company’s intention to release Black Widow in theaters, he has not confirmed whether the film will be released on May 7, 2021, as scheduled, or whether it will face another denial in the next few years. month. Per THR, Chapek described some of the factors the company will be monitoring, including the state of movie theater closures, as well as audience demand for the theatrical experience.

For some time now, there has been plenty of speculation as to whether Black Widow might debut on Disney +, with rumors gaining momentum shortly after Disney began to change course with a number of its others. theatrical releases planned. Mulan premiered on Disney + in September for a premium price of $ 29.99, while Pixar’s Soul skipped theaters and made its way to release in December at no additional cost.

Disney continued to reassess its release plans as we entered the New Year, with the company announcing in January that Robert Zemeckis’ live-action remake of Pinocchio had been moved to a Disney + version. The news came shortly after a report was released suggesting the company was considering Disney + premieres for some of its upcoming tentpole family films.

Black Widow’s May 7, 2021 release date is almost exactly one year after its initial May 1, 2020 release date. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) first prompted Disney to push Black Widow to November 6, 2020. , before the company decides to postpone this date again. However, it was reported in March of last year, via an unnamed Marvel insider, that “pushing Black Widow doesn’t affect anything on the MCU timeline.”

For more on the studio’s upcoming list of projects and releases, read our analysis of the biggest and most notable developments in the MCU, on Disney +, and in Marvel Comics this year.

Adele Ankers is a freelance entertainment journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.